St Joseph’s Convent Marriaqua Young Leaders praised for their 2011 project

I’ve been a teacher in St. Vincent and the Grenadines for twelve years. In my tenure here, I’ve observed countless RBTT Young Leaders projects. I have to say that, of all that I’ve seen, this year’s project by the Young Leaders of the St. Joseph’s Convent Marriaqua is the most impressive.{{more}} SJCM is located in a rich, agrarian community, and has a vibrant agricultural science programme. Their project reflects this school and community commitment to agricultural development in SVG.

Under the guidance of Biology teacher Melanie Banfield, The SJCM Young Leaders group has taken on the task of researching and implementing a hydroponics programme in their school. This programme fosters not only water conservation, but also an actual, sustainable option for the agrarian communities in SVG.

Most years, the RBTT Young Leaders groups from SVG engage in projects that focus more on research and public education than anything else. We see signs painted on school walls, hear radio programmes and advertisements, and observe the odd march through Kingstown. This is all well and good. However, where is the sustainability in these projects? Where is the practical application? How can these things be expanded and developed into initiatives that have an actual impact? Public education only goes so far. What the SJCM Young Leaders have embarked on this year that I have rarely noted in SVG is a project that will last well beyond the time frame of the competition.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines is an agricultural state. We are constantly talking about ways to diversify and improve on our land use, as far as agriculture is concerned. What the SJCM Young Leaders project has done is present us with a very real solution in terms of both water conservation and agricultural diversification. Their hydroponics project is modest, but it works. Using water they gathered from the school roof via gutters, and stored in a tank, they have managed to produce a crop of celery and lettuce entirely through the use of hydroponics.

I won’t go into the nitty-gritty of hydroponics, since I think the SJCM Young Leaders themselves have done a creditable job of that themselves in their periodic newspaper articles. I will, however, say that I believe this project has much scope for development and is entirely sustainable. If SVG takes proper note, this project could, potentially, present us with a real alternative to the way our agricultural land is currently used. This project has started at the school level. It’s no stretch of the imagination to see it expanding out into the Marriaqua community, and then into other agricultural communities in SVG.

I wish the SCJM Young Leaders all the best in the RBTT competition. I trust, even if they’re not successful in taking the top prize for the country, that the powers that be in SVG take note of their hard work and dedication to providing a viable alternative in terms of agricultural development in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.