For most students at The Ohio State University, their experiences outside the classroom are what they remember the most during their time in Columbus. Developing a sense of community with like-minded individuals is invaluable.
Senior ecological engineering major Alex Babinski is certainly making the most of his time in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE), helping to revamp an old organization and setting it up for success in the future.
Babinski is from Westlake, Ohio, and while he was undecided when he came to Ohio State, he knew that he was interested in helping people and the environment, eventually choosing ecological engineering.
“Ecological engineering aligned with my goals of doing something that’s both a fresh profession but also something that’s sustainable, cares about people, and the environment,” said Babinski.
This past summer, he earned an internship at the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in downtown Columbus, where he was an engineer for the Division of Drinking and Ground Waters, examining public water systems projects and implementing new water lines throughout central Ohio.
One of Babinski’s favorite things about the ecological engineering field is the culture around the major and the career, noting that everyone he’s met is motivated and cares about the field. This culture is what helped reform the Ecological Engineering Society, the group that he is now the president of.
The Ecological Engineering Society was reformed in 2022 by a group of graduate students who had connections to the club’s former members before it disbanded during the pandemic.
“I really appreciate how the club is not strictly undergraduate or graduate,” said Babinski. “Everyone has the opportunity to work on whatever they’re interested in.”
The biggest project of the club since its revitalization has been the restoration of the rain garden located in the Chadwick Arboretum near the Agricultural Engineering
Building. The original rain garden was created in 2009 by the club, but the repair process began in spring 2023.
A rain garden is a natural way to use rainwater as a resource instead of a waste product. Stormwater collects pollutants and creates flooding that is harmful to property owners, stream life, and our drinking water. Rain gardens are an easy, cost-efficient way to slow and decrease the amount of stormwater runoff.
The club had to go through several processes that gave them real world experience, such as proposal writing, analysis, planning, as well as working with master gardeners and local non-profit organizations.
“One of the biggest goals of this project is to use it as a framework and build club activities from this in the future,” said Babinski. “We want to be able to share what we’ve learned with the upcoming group of people and push them to be leaders like I was.”
In spring 2024, plants were finally put into the ground, fulfilling months of anticipation and preparation. The Ecological Engineering Society’s rain garden sits just beyond the roundabout near the large praying mantis statue, and Babinski hopes that the club can add additional fixtures like a bench, small path, and additional signage.
