RIVERSIDE HYDROPONIC SUSTAINABLE CLASSROOM ECOSYSTEM

RIVERSIDE HYDROPONIC SUSTAINABLE CLASSROOM ECOSYSTEM

Project name: Sustainable Classroom Ecosystem

Project Location: Riverside (VAS)

Proposed started date: 13th November

Project duration:  Continuous

Amount requested from VAS Community Fund (VND): 30 million VND

Project leader: Andrew Diamond, Titus Berry [Class: 10 members of Student Council

Project team members: Student Council & Plastic Challenge ECA [Class: All Grades]

Project instructor: Andrew Diamond & Titus Berry

Project Overview

We were inspired by the recent VAS Talks about sustainable development for the future of Vietnam. Our Student Council at Riverside was so motivated by the VAS Talks that they wanted to make a difference right here, right now, today!
We want to make Riverside the greenest school in all of Vietnam. We want to introduce a self-sustaining eco-system and plant life inside every classroom covering the grey bars which cover the windows at Riverside. This will show that all people in the world are capable of growing their own plant life and possibly food all by themselves. This only requires ONE investment then we will have plant life all over the classroom that feeds & waters it.
Hydroponics seems a bit like farming technology from the future. These soilless growing systems use liquid nutrient solutions to feed plants grown on stacked towers in enclosed greenhouses, where, often, everything impacting plant growth — from the light plants receive to the moisture of their roots— can be controlled by computer. Hydroponics has been touted by some as the most sustainable growing system out there — thanks, in large part, to the fact that these farming systems can be built in close proximity to the cities they need to feed.
Hydroponics could be the solution to the growing problem of soil pollution we face globally and in Vietnam in particular. This system creates a platform by which VAS students at River Side may begin to contribute to solving one of the difficulties facing the human race.

Brief Background of our choice: Why did we start this project?

VAS Talks inspired this project. Each year everything millions of hectares of land is destroyed. Everyone always talks about being sustainable but nobody ever does anything. This stops today. Today we are going to not react to problems but proactively fix them before it gets worse. We will lead by example. In 5 years, every school in the world will be copying what VAS started.

Objectives

We want to help everyone by showing you how simple, easy and effective it is to have sustainable plant life in every classroom. It will inspire the children to be green advocates in the future and will inspire them to show that you can make a big difference if you just try.

All we need is 40 million dong to make this school the greenest in the world!

Project activities plan: What we want to do: Put self sustaining eco system in every classroom.

Our responsibility: To maintain and support all plant life and by the end of the year have the greenest school in Vietnam.

How we plan to spread the news about our project: Digital advertising, student projects and through social media.

How we plan to get our funds: We need funds from the VAS Community Project to implement this in every classroom. Any shortfall can be made up with fundraising events.

What we want to achieve: More awareness is spread and the sustainable development in the future generation. This project is just made to help our world.

The problem that we could occur: We don’t get the funding and cannot realize our dreams of having the greenest school on Earth.

Project monitoring and evaluation: Each classroom monitored by Head of Secondary, Titus Berry and staff. Evaluation in the amount of plant life in all the classrooms. We have receipts for everything that we need to buy as we made one as an example already.

A. Project activities plan:

Mr Titus has already created the self sustaining eco system in our Science classroom (see photos). Once we have the materials we need we can start building the sustainable ecosystem in each classroom. We will also need some plant seeds and some soil for growing each plant. Mr Titus & Mr Andy and the classroom leaders will be responsible for maintaining the pump needed to push the water to the plants. We will also hold fund-raising events at the school if necessary if we cannot get the whole amount of funds from VAS.

B. Expected results:

The results will be delivered in the first month. As soon as all the plants start growing, it will transform each and every classroom at VAS. Possible challenges will be the space to put the water pump in the classroom. These will be very easy to overcome as it doesn’t take up any space. Other possible problems could be the students damaging the system but this is extremely easy to make and fix

C. Implementing team:

Mr Titus, our supreme Science teacher has personally invested his own money to prove to everyone that the system works. He made the first one himself. He has shown that it is very easy to do, cheap and will work perfectly if there is the motivation to make it work.

D. Project monitoring and evaluation:

The project will be monitored each week and month. We will measure the growth of the plants and ensure the ecosystem and pump are clean and working smoothly. By the end of the year, all classrooms will have significant and sustainable plant life in the classrooms. By the end of the year, VAS Riverside will be the greenest school in all of Vietnam, Asia, and the world.

E. Budget:

We need 3 million dong for each classroom (10 classrooms)