Field Trip Reflections

Workshop 4 - Renewable Energy W/ Jason:

Brownies cooking in a solar-powered oven.
Photo: @Joe Kirsten
(Soil Squad)

This was the first workshop that our set was involved in. We were all fresh and eager to learn! The renewable energy topic is an interesting one for all and the workshop was no different. We had learned about Solar Energy. It was very informative and showed us how powerful the Sun truly is – it can cook delicious brownies in under half an hour! I particularly enjoyed this workshop but am still struggling to find the connection between Solar Energy and our Window Gardens. I doubt that we will be able to implement any of the skills we learned, in this Workshop, into our Window Gardens. Perhaps, this particular workshop should focus on being slightly more towards Windo
w Gardens, next time.However, I definitely did enjoy this Workshop! 
By Jay Sinha.

Workshop 5 - Food and Nutrition W/ Thelesia:

Kale leaf and hummus rap.
Photo: @Robert Dugmore
(Chai in the Sky)

This was the second Workshop of the day and when we heard that we would be eating our work - we were thrilled! This workshop mainly focused on how our window-garden-produce can be beneficial towards human health. We had  made kale leaf raps with hummus. I found the taste to be interesting, definitely something I could get used to, but the opinions differed between the BioBuddies group. I found the topic to be slightly pointless as the entire point of a window garden is to reduce food insecurity with healthy and beneficial foods. However, it was nice to get a feel of what our end results may be like. Not many improvements can be implemented, for this workshop, in the future. Perhaps, the introduction of a more popular option, such as smoothies, or an entirely different take on the topic might be implemented. 
By Euan Groenewald.

Workshop 6 - GrowPro Garden W/ Robyn:

The GrowPro Garden.
Photo: @Ollie Kane-Smith
(Chai in the Sky)

This was one of the more helpful workshops. It introduced more possible Window Garden designs into our head via the vertical structure of the GrowPro Garden. The workshop also showed us how the decomposition of food, that on another day we might throw away, can be beneficial to the soil and the what it can do with it. Unfortunately, the timing of the workshop was not the best and everyone was tired during the day, due to the blistering heat, and no one was in the mood to plant any plants. Not much attention had been retained throughout the Workshop - perhaps, the implementation of a shadier setting would have been slightly more suitable.
By Jay Sinha. 

Workshop 1 - Permaculture W/ Imran:

Workshop 1, was mainly theory, which did mean that it was slightly boring, but will be extremely useful when it comes to implementing the skill, when working with our window gardens. We were taught that the positioning of your plants affect the type of plant that you should chose for your garden. We also performed a game of Charades, near the end, but the terms were slightly more complicated than what we had expected. I do appreciate the great idea to restrict any boredom amongst the class, but unfortunately, the terms we had to act out were slightly too complex and we were too tired to give our maximum effort. Perhaps, slightly more simpler terms would've made the game more fun and gain our attention!
By Simi Mehlomakulu.

Workshop 2 - Vegetable Garden W/ Mathieu and Eliza:

Vegetable Garden planted by Gr9s.
Photo by: @Rohan Naidoo
(Chai in the Sky)

Workshop 2 really was what Workshop 1’s initial intentions should have been. We learned a great deal on how to plant your dormant seeds correctly and we physically practised the routine! This restricted any sort of boredom, within the group and class. The kinesthetic learning method really helped us absorb the information. We really do look forward to implementing the helpful skills, of the layout of soil, that we learned during this workshop – no improvements required!
By Euan Groenewald.

Workshop 3 - Soil  and Worms W/ Josh:

In all honesty, this was probably one of the most boring and useless Workshops of the outing. All the information that we learned was repetitive to what we had learned, in our Grade 9 Biology Notes, prior to the Field Trip. It was also an extremely prolonged Workshop and it really didn’t have to be. I did, however, enjoy the enthusiasm that Josh had brought to the Workshop! I feel that, perhaps, more interesting news may need to be implemented next time. It must also be noted that my rather negative review may be due to how tired I was at that time of day. It was the last lesson and it was hot! Not much attention had been retained throughout the Workshop, but Josh's enthusiasm must be commended!
By Simi Mehlomakulu.

Overall Enjoyment of Field Trip:

We feel incredibly grateful to have attended such a carefully orchestrated outing. Although there were a few moments were we felt that the day was too long, we learned a lot and appreciated the enthusiasm Josh, Imran, Thelesia, Jason, Robyn, Mathieu and Eliza had brought to the outing. This being our first Field Trip of the College, commenced an entirely advanced excitement for the future Life Sciences outings!

Recommendations:

"I think that future field trips must propose an actual outing outside of school. A change in venue can be very stimulating to the learning process, in my opinion." - Jay.

"Greater physical interactivity, during the Workshop 1, would be more beneficial as it stimulates the kinesthetic learning technique, which will ease the learning process." - Simi.

"During Workshop 5, I strongly disliked the flavor and texture of the hummus and kale leaves. I didn't reap the benefits, that the others did, in understanding the nutritional, and delicious, values from the source of our future window gardens. Perhaps, a smoothie would have sufficed." - Euan.

Edited by Jay Sinha