Drip Irrigation & Solar Pump at OBHS - All Systems Are A Go!

Water is essential for the growth of plants, and it is even better when water is sourced in an eco-friendly way. Cat Island United has worked with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme to ensure a drip irrigation system and solar pump were set up at Old Bight High School (OBHS). Mr. Horace Forbes serves as the Agricultural Science teacher for both high schools on the island. Under his guidance, the 10th-grade students at OBHS installed the drip irrigation system and the 12th-grade students installed the solar pump. With the help of gravity-fed and solar-driven drip irrigation systems, no energy is being wasted. Drip irrigation systems have low water usage and help to conserve this resource in drought-prone Cat Island.

With a solar-powered water system fully installed, the school is preparing to grow beautiful, healthy, lush crops. When the produce is harvested near the end of the school year, the students will be able to take them home to their families. Locally grown produce will not have the pesticides and chemicals that imported or processed goods do, which is healthier for us and the environment. Not to mention, growing food locally helps to reduce the carbon emissions in the atmosphere that come from processing and importing food. Now, students at OBHS can experience that for themselves. As Mr. Forbes put it, “All systems go!”