COUNTYWIDE : Science Students Provide the Answers

Want to know whether your landscaping would thrive with recycled “gray water” from the washing machine? Ever wonder if you really need to buy pricey gourmet cat food for your finicky feline?

Answers to those questions are provided by science students from throughout the county at the Ventura County Science Fair.

The event runs through today at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. The displays will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

More than 400 students, from grades 6 to 12 countywide, are competing for awards and a chance to compete at a higher level during the State Science Fair in Los Angeles next month.

As California’s drought continues, it was clear that many of the young participants are concerned with water problems. Jeff Nattkemper, an eighth-grader at Somis Union School, wanted to find out if plants and grass would grow as well with recycled gray water.

“I wanted to find some way to ease the drought,” he said. For his project, he planted four sets of tomato plants, grass, alyssum and marigolds in a wooden box with four compartments.

He then did three loads of laundry--one with Amway biodegradable detergent, one with Clout detergent and one with Clout and bleach--and saved the water for use on three plantings. He used regular water on the fourth.

“I expected they would do about the same,” he said. They did. There was little difference between the plantings watered with tap water and Amway. The least healthy planting was the one watered with Clout and bleach. He concluded the gray water works best on non-flowering plants.

But not all delved into such weighty issues. Linda Nevin, an eighth-grader at La Reina High School in Thousand Oaks, had cat food on her mind.

“Do cats really want the expensive brand,” her project was titled. To find out, she fed six cats three brands--Fancy Feasts, Ralph’s generic, and Friskies.

Did they prefer the gourmet selection? “Most of the cats did not really care what food they ate,” was her conclusion. “In one case, a cat actually started to eat the label on the dish.”