New Myrnam School’s Horticulture Class Cultivating New Ideas

New Myrnam School’s Horticulture Class Cultivating New Ideas

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

You never know where inspiration will come from or where it will lead. That holds true for a group of students from New Myrnam School who recently discovered a new agricultural opportunity through an innovative conference that was recently held in Olds.

Cultiv8, a youth agriculture leadership summit, was hosted by Inside Education. Four horticulture students and two teachers from the school attended the event.

Student Hannah Saruk said, “Our horticulture class focuses on a sustainable way of producing products, which in our case is hydroponically grown lettuce. At the conference we learned about sustainable farming practices, which led us to our decision to pursue an aquaponic farming system.”

Conference attendees from L-R: RaeBecca Pushulka, Hannah Saruk, Ava Machney, Amy Okeymow, Moriah Ostropolski and Kaitlyn Ladret.

(New Myrnam School/Submitted Photo)

They spoke with other delegates at the conference who have all had success with berry farming yearround through aquaponics and decided it would be an exciting challenge to take on. “We would like to get our berry farming operation running efficiently and producing high quality products by the end of the school year.”

The conference was hosted by Inside Education, and saw nearly 110 students and teachers from across Alberta take part in the event which included seminars, trade fair and tours of nearby farms.

Next year’s conference will be held in Canmore and focus on energy and climate change.

Inside Education is funded by the federal and provincial governments as well as various corporations and foundations. The organization has a team of educators that work directly with teachers and students every day to create first-hand experiences and hands-on learning opportunities.