Maldon High gets new tank for fish-farming endeavour
WESTERN BUREAU:
STUDENTS AT St James-based Maldon High School now have an opportunity to practise fish-farming along with other agricultural lessons following Tuesday’s commissioning of a concrete fish tank for that purpose. The project was aided through collaboration of the school’s alumni association from New York and the Sandals Foundation.
The two groups, along with representatives from the Cornwall College Old Boys’ Association which partners with both entities, were on hand to join the Maldon High students in pouring the first batch of fish into the new tank, valued at $750,000.
President of the Maldon High School Alumni Association Baldwin McIntosh said that the provision of the tank fell under his organisation’s thrust to revive an interest in agricultural pursuits at his alma mater.
“Back in the early 1970s when I attended Maldon, at that time it was a school that was vibrant in farming, and the crops that were produced were actually used to subsidise feeding at the school. A few years ago I became president of the alumni association in New York and we set a mandate to accomplish four key tasks at Maldon: revitalising the agricultural industry at Maldon, presenting a new way of agriculture using technology; growing crops and vegetation in a way that we leverage new technology; and educating students in the fact that there is a new path of life in agriculture other than chopping bananas and digging the earth with a fork,” said McIntosh.
“During our collaboration and partnering with the Sandals Foundation, it was mentioned that a core component of the foundation is agriculture, and we figured this was something great we could do to jumpstart our initiative at Maldon High.
“It was decided that we would embark on a fish tank, which Sandals said they would stand 100 per cent behind us, being that we were implementing it in a fashion that would teach students to embrace new technologies in the sense of it being an aquaponic farming deployment ,” McIntosh added.
Aquaponics refers to a cooperative system between plants and fish, with the term originating from the words aquaculture (the growing of fish in a closed environment) and hydroponics (the growing of plants, usually in a soil-less environment).
TEACHING IMPORTANCE OF FOOD SECURITY
Glenviel Wynn, Maldon High’s agricultural science teacher, noted that the use and maintenance of the fish tank will teach students the importance of food security.
“Food security is not locking up your food in your cupboard so nobody can get your food; it is a country being able to produce consistent quality food for its citizens. With this in mind, we also have to consider the whole climate change issue that is taking place now, which reduces the number of fish that we can get from the sea, and these temperatures cause coral reefs to be burned out, and coral reefs are a habitat for parrot fish, a fish we love to eat,” said Wynn.
“Having this fish tank serves many purposes, to include learning the whole thing about food security, giving a different mindset as to what agriculture is, and the various aspects of agriculture. It shows us that agriculture can go to a different level, and this fish tank will serve as a centre of excellence,” Wynn explained.
The launch of Maldon High’s fishfarming initiative will also aid the Sandals Foundation’s drive to encourage farming as a vocation among students, particularly in light of reports over the years indicating that young people have been shying away from agriculture due to finding it unattractive.
Georgia Scarlett, the Sandals Foundation’s environmental coordinator, told Maldon High students that the lessons they can learn from using the fish tank, and from agriculture and farming in general, can direct them on the path to wealth creation.
“We always believe in agriculture, especially for students, and this fish programme is just another part of what we do as it is so important for students to be actively involved in things so they can replicate them when they are older.You can make money and be a farmer, you don’t have to get dirty to be a farmer, and there are lots of good ways to farm these days because of technology, ”said Scarlett.
“We want to try to encourage you to eat what you grow; it is something that our government has been saying for years, and now we want to partner with your alumni and with your teachers to teach you that you can do this too.”
For Leonardo Crossbourne, Maldon High’s Head Boy, the provision of the fish tank will bolster his existing knowledge of farming, which he acquired from assisting his father.
“I grew up around my father with farming, and I helped him out on the farm, and I learned a lot from him about reaping what you sow. This is the first I will go into the fishing aspect of it, even though I still know one or two things about fishing,” Crossbourne remarked .“I don’t really do things that pertain to things like taking care of the fish, but I can learn what is there to be learned.”