| 2005 |
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YEAR BOOK |
Hazelwood College, Dromcollogher, Co. Limerick
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A crop as high as an elephant's eye
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We began thinking about our project back in September 2004. We had difficulty coming up with a topic until one day our science teacher, Ms Neville, came in with an article and we decided that we would investigate further. The article was referring to Elephant Grass (Miscanthus), which was being successfully grown for the first time in Ireland, near our school in Adare, Co. Limerick. We began researching it on the internet. When we felt we knew enough, we started on our project for the Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition.
After this, we needed to talk to people who knew what they were talking about, people like local farmer, Joe Hogan, who had been dealing with this crop for many years. He was researching Miscanthus for ten years before he decided to grow it on his land. Just by interviewing him, it translated the information on the internet from America to Ireland and put it in a context that we understood. We really felt that this personal way of attaining information suited us because we had many questions.
We also needed hands-on experience. We spent one full day carrying out experiments and after that we felt we knew the Miscanthus better because we understood, to some degree, why it was the way it was and why it did the things it did. For example, examining the roots, we discovered the rhizomes. We now know that they are what make the plant a perennial crop and redevelop the plant year after year.
Through this we revealed that even though Miscanthus was grown twice before in Ireland, this is the first time that it has been grown and harvested here. Ireland is an ideal place for Miscanthus to be grown due to the amount of annual rainfall we experience and because our soil has huge water retention properties.
Miscanthus has many advantages and yet it is not difficult to grow. It requires very little labour because once it is planted all that is required on an annual basis is to harvest it once a year.
Looking back, we are delighted that we started and followed through on our study. What we have learned is immeasurable and we have a long list of things we still want to do with our project.
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This article was sponsored by Comhar
The National Sustainable Development Partnership |
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