Russell Smith-Ollivierre, agriculture science teacher at the St. George Secondary School showing off the hypertufa planter to this interested visitor.
Students showing more interest in agriculture
St. George Secondary School teacher, Russell Smith-Ollivierre has noticed that there has been an increase of interest in agriculture by students.
The Agriculture Science teacher at the institution made this comment during an interview with The Barbados Advocate at Agrofest yesterday evening.
“The response to the agriculture science is remarkable. I’ve been at the school for three years now and there has been a significant increase in children who have chosen agriculture-related subjects. They are willing to do it all; they maintain the garden and take
care of the livestock and there is very little complaining,” he said.
“I think it has to do with the way subjects are taught, a lot of teachers in the past have been guilty of teaching in the talk and chalk way, where they come in and use the board, however my classes are very interactive so that they understand what is going on.”
The teacher expressed that it was their goal to be the premier school for agriculture in Barbados, and by extension the region. He proudly announced that the school had won the “Grow Well, Eat Well” competition; a competition that looked at protective gardening and container gardening and the like, and noted that they had won in all three categories. He noted that it was his hope for them to win next year as well.
“It’s all about the students, we want them to be able to leave the school as young entrepreneurs and take agriculture in the direction it needs to go in because we have a very high food import bill,” he said.
He believed that every little contribution that could be made towards lowering the high food import bill of the island was of incredible benefit to the running of the country in the long run.
On display, the school showed off their vertical garden initiative, which according to Smith-Ollivierre, they saw online and put their own twist on it, and hypertufa plant pots made from old towels. He explained that the vertical garden was something that could benefit persons who had little space as it had wheels and could be layered.