Bangalore: Students show the science behind sustainability

Class nine student Harsha Vardhana has come up with a unique method of growing crops at home using discarded plastic bottles, jars, car tyres and PVC pipes. Using sign language, he explains that these bottles and jars can then be hanged around the window.

Vertical gardening, as the technique is called, not only saves up on space, but also makes effective use of waste bottles and jars, says Harsha.

Studying in the Sheila Kothavala Institute for the Deaf, Harsha was taught the basics of crops in his science class, and given a project on window farming and vertical gardening that had to be completed within 45 days.

Along with his classmates Nandini and S Akash, Harsha went about interacting with farmers, reading up material on farming, and ultimately finalised on using discarded materials as pots and plant holders.

Akash explains (also through sign language) that cucumber, tomatoes, bell peppers and gourds can all be grown through vertical garden within the home for consumption.

While Akash and Harsha have created models of vertical gardening, Narendra Babu, another class nine student from Ashraya Neelbagh School, has created a fish net, mat, rope,  and decorative items using the coir from coconuts.

“We were taught waste management, and had to put waste from paddy, sugarcane, coconut and silk worm to effective use,” says Babu, adding that for learning to create various products from coir, they had to visit their villages in districts like Kolar, and get guidance from the farmers there.

“I learnt to make ropes from paddy waste and toys using paddy powder. Learning this way is very interesting than just being inside classrooms,” says Venkatesh, classmate of Babu.

In addition, Naveen and Atif from the Divine Light Trust for Blind learnt all about food preservation by using salt and vinegar to preserve vegetables.

These children, along with those from nine other schools, were participating in a Science Fair at Whitefield, where agriculture was the theme.

Ramakrishna Rao, from GE India Technology Centre, who helped put up the Fair, says the intention is to make children think beyond textbooks and get them to understand the science behind agriculture.

“By doing projects pertaining to seeds, soil, organic farming, waste management or vertical gardening; children are able to learn in a better manner, and can also understand the relevance of science in their daily lives. By visiting farmers in villages, they get the actual feel of how things are done,” says Rao.