2. What Sustainability means
to us
The boys in the Saint Ignatius College Agriculture
class, take the topic of farming sustainability very
seriously. They try and be as sustainable as possible,
by using different methods of production.
3. Types of Sustainable
Methods We Use
Doing things like recycling used materials, growing
our own vegetables and raising our own chickens to
produce eggs and eat our excess garden materials. We
also have a hydroponics system that grows plants by
use of other mediums such as perlite rather than soil.
4. Recycling
We at Saint Ignatius College are doing our absolute
best to reduce our carbon footprint by recycling. We
do this by having 3 different types of bins that are
used to recycle different types of recyclable materials
and waste. We also have various environmental
committees and groups that are set up around the
whole school. During the week, every Wednesday the
school runs a program known as ‘Low Waste
Wednesdays’. This is essentially where people band
together to not drop as much rubbish and create as
little waste as possible.
7. Growing our own
Vegetables
The boy’s from Riverview have banded together to do
their absolute best to grow the best quality vegetables.
These include lettuce, beetroot, strawberries, potatoes ,
celery and spinach all grown in mushroom compost
and garden mix. The potatoes are grown in old used
truck tyres that are stacked up as the plants grow.
8. Raising our own Chickens
We have mixed breeds of layer hens that are fed
coarse grain mix along with different vegetable scraps
from the gardens. In return, the layers provide a dozen
eggs a day.
10. Hydroponics System
Hydroponics is the technique of growing plants
without soil. Plants are grown directly in nutrient
solutions, or in materials such as sand, gravel or
vermiculite and watered regularly with a nutrient
solution. Here at Riverview we have a fully functional
liquid flowing culture hydroponics system. This is the
process where the nutrient solution flows past the
roots in shallow troughs or pipes.
11. Junior School
The SIC junior school has made an attempt to be more
environmental by setting up an environment club that
focuses on recycling their food scraps and using them
in a worm farm, from which they get manure from.
The Regis Environmental club also focuses on making
idea’s such as Low Waste Wednesday and getting
their energy from solar panels located on the roof’s of
the building.
12. Senior School
The Saint Ignatius College senior school is leading the
charge in the in terms of sustainability. They have a
big focus on recycling and reusing materials as well as
reducing the amount of energy that we use.
13. Water Recycling
Here at Saint Ignatius College our climate is
characterized by long periods of droughts and
flooding rain. Other farmers who are not prepared for
drought, leave the land bare and exposed to the
effects of heavy rain resulting in erosion.
An example of being a well prepared farmer is here at
Riverview, we ensure there are adequate water storage
facilities , such as dams, in our case water tanks, to
even out the supply of water.
15. Organic Recycling
By recycling nutrients, we at Saint Ignatius College
ensure that soils are able to produce goods in the
future. This can include spreading animal manures,
composting, using bio solids and using green manure
crops in a crop rotation.
17. Education
Farmers are able to adjust certain developments which
directly affects their future. Educational programs set
up by both the community and government
organisations help farmers to pass on the latest
farming techniques. The World Wide Web also assists
farmers access to the most up-to-date information of
importance.
