Virtual Booth

CLASS TO FARM INNOVATION (CTF)

ISYAA JASMINE BINTI SHARISHEN, VISHAKAN A/L SUNTHAR, PATHMAALAKSME THENESH KUMAR, NAURA DZHIA'ADNI IZZA BINTI MOHD DZAQEER IQBAL & KARTIK ETTIKAN

SK MEDINI, 79100 ISKANDAR PUTERI, JOHOR BAHRU, JOHOR, MALAYSIA

ABSTRACT:

With over 14 billion pencils used worldwide every year, there’s no question about how essential pencils are for education and writing in general. In many primary schools, students are still required to shave their pencils in the classroom, so it’s important that each class has its own set of waste and recycling bins. Pencil shavings are rich in carbon, making them an excellent addition to your soil that will help your plants grow. Thus, this programme make students to realized that waste materials also can be used as plant fertilizer. Pencil shavings are actually a great way to add carbon to your compost mixture, which is needed by the microorganisms to break down the organic material. Other than compost, pencil shavings can be used in multiple ways to add a little greenery to your garden. You can use them to make mulch and topsoil because they help retain much-needed moisture. Pencil shavings can also be used as a pest deterrent because most pencils are made of cedarwood, which helps keep annoying insects away. So, hereby the innovation programme which known as ‘CLASS TO FARM’ created to encourage students to realized the important of recycling and food industries.

Objectives of this innovations are promoting awareness and a sense of respect for nature leads to a comprehensive understanding of the environment and a reasonable attitude towards protecting it via innovation idea and encourage pupils to learn about farming, develop innovation skills to protect it, and be a part of the global effort towards tackling and solving issues related to the environment. The Class to Farm program started from the class where each of the 39 classes was provided with a container to collect the results of pencil sharpeners once a week. Representatives from each class collect and send to the school farm for composting. After that, the CTF(CLASS TO FARM) committee was involved in the composting process by mixing shaving pencils with soil in a relatively large container. The container will be kept in a special place provided for 3 weeks. After that, the mixture is used as organic soil for the plants in the school farm. The students were involved in groups to plant chilli and okra using their own organic soil and also used excess shavings as topsoil to keep the soil moist. The produce from the crops is sold to the school community and the sales proceeds are saved to buy seeds and materials needed for this program. This program will continue because the organic soil produced is the student's own innovation from pencil shaves and authentically involves learning process in education.

Keywords: Class to Farm (CTF), Pencil shavings & education