Lethbridge College students hope to take the lessons learned in their southern Alberta classrooms high into the Andes of Peru as they embark on a proposed ambitious project building greenhouses at primary schools.
"There is no better feeling then knowing you are helping your students become global citizens and improving somebody’s lot in life with something as simple as a vegetable," says Lethbridge College biology instructor Tom Graham. Graham will host a meeting at the college from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 24, to discuss the project, its purpose and its goals.
If approved, the college would partner with Centro de Investigación de Recursos Naturales y Medio Ambiente (CIRNMA) in Peru to help construct five 20 X 60 foot greenhouses at rural schools located in the Andes in villages that are often 4,500 meters above sea level.
Lethbridge College students would work with members of CIRNMA as well as with students, parents and community members from the selected rural villages. The estimated cost of each greenhouse, including labour, is $3,500 CDN.
If the proposal goes forward, the benefits of this project would be ongoing. According to Graham, the greenhouses would provide between 30 and 50 percent of the vegetables consumed each year at each school. This source of nutrients would be especially important during the cold season when the climate of the high Andres prevents children from having access to fresh vegetables.
The schools would be selected by CIRNMA and the Peruvian Education Department. Lethbridge College would provide funding, expertise, people, training and building materials. CIRNMA would maintain the greenhouse once the initial work is complete.
There are several goals of the proposed program, Graham says.
"First, it would ensure that the primary schools in Peru have adequate year-round food," he notes. "It would also provide an opportunity for Lethbridge post-secondary students to travel to a developing country and help with the training and building of the greenhouses for rural communities and provide an international cultural experience."
In addition, the students would work with community members in rural communities on greenhouse building, plant cultivation, health and nutrition, and marketing their produce. In time, Grahamenvisions expanding this project to other rural communities in both developing and developed countries.
For more information, contact Tom Graham at 403-394-7362 or Gwen Wirth at 403-320-3233.
The Nov. 24 meeting will be from 7 to 9 p.m. in IB1102 (the Instructional Building on the northeast side of campus. Follow this link (http://www.lethbridgecollege.ca/campus-maps) for a map of campus.