Our team at INMED South Africa was pleased to get a glowing progress report from the principal and aquaponics coordinator of Kempton Park primary school in Johannesburg, where INMED and Air Products installed an aquaponics system and sensory garden last September. Since then, the grow beds have yielded bumper crops of tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers and peppers. INMED has trained 16 teachers and four parents how to maintain the system, along with one full-time gardener.
Teachers of all grade levels are using the aquaponics system for their math, science and health lessons. In addition to tending the crops and caring for the fish, students are keeping meticulous records of crop production and comparing it to the crops grown in their traditional garden. A vocational program was also started to accommodate learners who have trouble integrating into traditional classroom lessons. “There is a group of boys who work in the garden every Friday and they love it!” says aquaponics coordinator Adoree Lauw. “It is a struggle to keep the other children in class!”
Just another example of how INMED is cultivating farmers of the future.
