A former Airdrie resident and Airdrie Koinonia Christian School graduate (now Airdrie Christian Academy) has constructed an app to help improve public education surrounding climate change.
The app, which is titled “Carbon,” was put together in two weeks by Trinity Western University (TWU) student Okewoma Okumo. The 18-year-old computer sciences major said he created the app for a contest one of his professors told him about.
“I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to partake in it,” he said. “It was a really great experience for me.”
Okumo’s app placed second in the Township of Langley's Codathon: Coding Matters competition, which secured him a $1,000 prize. He said the main focus of his app is embodied in the slogan “our environment in your hands.”
According to Okumo, the main part of the app is a greenhouse gas calculator, which allows the user to input daily electricity and gas usage. Through a custom algorithm that Okumo created, the app's users can find their exact greenhouse gas emissions and tips on how to reduce the number.
“I also have a tips page on the app to help users achieve a better emissions score,” he said. “There are a number of ways we can better the environment.”
The app also gives users the chance to not only help protect the environment but stimulate the economy as well. According to Okumo, a feature links users to companies that support environmental and humanitarian causes.
Growing up in a house with a computer engineer as a father help sparked Okumo’s love for computer sciences, which is why he is currently studying the subject at Trinity Western University, in Langley, B.C.
“Growing up, I have always been surrounded by computers,” he said. “I have always watched computer-based YouTube videos, played a lot of video games and watched anime – a lot of really nerdy stuff.”
Okumo said he got into program coding in Grade 7. By the end of his high school career, he had already begun to teach himself a number of coding languages.
“Coding is really just about creating anything that your mind can come up with,” he said. “I really just love the idea of creating anything and problem-solving.”
Okumo immigrated to Canada at a young age from Nigeria with his family. He said focusing his skills and efforts around an app that can help save the environment is based on wanting to help people who have fewer resources.
In addition to his computer science studies, Okumo is also a member of Trinity Western’s track-and-field team. He said another motivator for his app is that there are many areas in the world where athletes can’t participate in competitions due to environmental issues.
“An app like this will help people be able to network and work together,” he said.
While he is currently in his first year of post-secondary studies, Okumo hopes to eventually progress into an area where he can focus on software engineering and data analysis. He said he wants to be a part of a company that will improve – and not harm – the world.
Okumo said he was always told as a child by his mother that “little drops create a mighty ocean.” He said it’s a philosophy he continues to carry forward on his journey.
“If my little drop can create a mighty ocean, I would really love that,” he said.
Jordan Stricker, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @Jay_Strickz
