Sustainability at Saint Ignatius’ College -

Riverview

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.

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.

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.

Recycling

Growing our own Vegetables

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.

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.

Hydroponics System

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.

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.

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.

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.

Water Recycling

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.

Organic Recycling

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.

Education