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SWFL Hackerspace Seeks to Help by Hacking & Recycling Electronics

Photos: Southwest Florida Hackerspace, Flickr Creative Commons

Hackers are convenient villains in movies, TV shows, and other forms of pop culture. But across the country, and in Southwest Florida, groups of hackers and other tech-savvy people are coming together with artists, designers, and specialists to use their hacking powers for good.

 

The Southwest Florida Hackerspace is one such group, a burgeoning nonprofit specializing in prototyping and technology education. The group holds biweekly meet-ups in Fort Myers, and collaborates with other organizations like the Southwest Florida Regional Technology Partnership Foundation.
 

Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., Russell Benzing with the Southwest Florida Hackerspace explain what goes in to a hackerspace, and the kind of projects Southwest Florida hackers have undertaken since its inception in 2014, and how it plans to build a "maker space" in our region.
 

Also joining the program is Gerard Damiano, a member of the Hackerspace who's spearheading an upcoming iRecycle Workshop and e-waste event Saturday, Mar. 25 at the Alliance for the Arts GreenMarket in Fort Myers. The collected electronic waste will be either recycled or used in future Hackerspace projects.
 

Matthew Smith is a reporter and producer of WGCU’s Gulf Coast Live.
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