Gladys Abraham Elementary School fifth graders enrolled in the school's gardening club give a tour of their garden and aquaponics/hydroponics systems to Dr. Irma Lawrence (back row, left) and UVI officials on September 16.
Gladys Abraham Elementary School students recently showcased the impressive hydroponics and aquaponics systems installed at their school, as well as their blooming nursery to an official visiting the school from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture in Washington, D.C.
The students, under the guidance of Mr. Vincent Henley, a physical education teacher who also heads up the school’s gardening club and its hydroponics/aquaponics programs, gave Dr. Irma A. Lawrence, a program leader for UVI's Coorporate Extension Services (CES), and UVI officials a grand tour of their space on September 16. Gladys Abraham is a CES outreach site and Dr. Lawrence said she was impressed with what she saw. “I think this is very creative,” she began. “The students are very energetic and engaged. I really like the fact that the students want to be participants and they are doing new initiatives.”
Originally from Puerto Rico, Dr. Lawrence said it is important for locals to care for their island home. “I think we all live in paradise, so we have to make paradise better for the people who live here, not just the people who come and visit,” she said. “How can we develop new jobs and small businesses, and try to solve problems at the same time? How can we come with ideas and involve the public with solving these problems? I think education is key for everyone to move forward and grow and continue enjoying paradise.”
Mr. Henley said he established Gladys Abraham's hydroponics, aquaponics and nursery programs during the 2015-16 school year after receiving a $5,000 Anderson Teacher Grant from the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands. This school year, he wants to add another component to the mix—solar energy. “We will try to apply [for the Anderson Teacher Grant] again this year, because with all of the power outages, we want to add solar energy. When the electricity goes out we still want our pumps to be functioning.”
Mr. Henley, who enjoys farming and the science behind it when he is not teaching physical education, said the entire school is engaged in agriculture. Students in the primary grades generally tend to the plants in the nursery, while intermediate students help manage the hydroponics and aquaponics systems. “I love to see the joy on the students’ faces," he said. “We have our garden club, we have been in the Food Fair and have won five times in a row. We are self-sufficient now. We have hot pepper growing in the nursery and we create our own hot sauces and sell them.”
A group of proud fifth graders weighed in on their hard work.
N’Sai Gbiles said she enjoys learning about agriculture. “It helps the plants, it helps the fishes and it helps us learn what to do if you grow up and want to be a farmer,” she said. “I enjoy planting seeds and taking care of the plants. At school, some of the crops we grow are lime, passion fruit, pineapple, hot pepper and other plants.”
Josendy Morel said, “I saw how to take care of the plants and all the passion fruits and pineapples,” she said. “You plant a seed and take care of them by giving them water, sun and air.
Malakai Henley said his favorite part of learning about hydroponics and aquaponics was building the systems with his dad, Mr. Henley. “We got some gravel and we had to build the wooden frame,” he said. “For hydroponics, we went to Home Depot and got everything we needed to build it. I learned that the fish waste helps the plants to grow and that they can grow without soil.” The father and son team also used recyclable materials, such as an old water heater that was used to construct a water filtration system for the aquaponics system.
And summing up the feelings of his classmates, Malakai added, “You will have a good experience learning about hydroponics and aquaponics."
Gladys Abraham teacher Mr. Henley, far right, shares details about his school's hydroponics and aquaponics programs with
Cooperative Extension Services officials from UVI and Dr. Irma Lawrence (second from right) on September 16.
Auqaponics system at Gladys Abraham Elementary School.
Waste from tilapia being raised is used to fertalilze plants.
Tilapia being raised at Gladys Abraham Elementary School.
