Students told about benefits of organic farming

[sajiv]

Udhagamandalam: Many students from the Green Valley Matriculation School, Kotagiri, benefited significantly from a workshop on Organic Farming organised by the Earth Trust here recently.

Apart from gaining valuable exposure on the concept, the students learnt a great deal about medicinal plants and cultivation of oyster mushrooms. The Earth Trust's Education Manager, J.K. Mohan Kumar, and the Education Programmer, K.M. Sivakumar, familiarised the students and the teachers accompanying them with the effect of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides on the environment and the people and the advantages of switching over to organic farming.

Save money
Pointing out that the establishment of eco-friendly organic vegetable gardens in schools would not only help the institutions save money but also ensure the physical well-being of its students, they warned that the level of pesticide residue in fruits and vegetables was rising.

The organically grown products contained more nutrients like calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc. In addition, organic farming reduced soil erosion, prevented pollution of water sources and protected bio-diversity.

The Principal of the school, J. Lakshminarayanan, a green campaigner himself, said that such workshops helped bring about a welcome change in the mindset of the participants. The head of the Earth Trust, Vanya Orr, said that promotion of organic farming would help reduce the problems associated with global warming.