Learning About Sustainable Farming in Beijing

At DCB, we talked about sustainability at school, but how can it be practised in another context? 

Last week, DCB Year 6 students took a trip 40 minutes east of Beijing to Fanfan Farm. The farm was keen to work with the school to teach children about sustainable farming and food production. They talked about how the farm was organised and why it was important to farm sustainably and without chemicals.

The students learnt that farming needs to be sustainable because if it is not, it uses too many resources. At Fanfan, they collect and recycle their water. In China, 63% of all water used is for food production. Farming also produces a massive amount of carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas. Fanfan uses greenhouses to collect heat and minimise energy use. They are also experimenting with sustainable building materials such as bamboo.

The students also learnt how tomatoes are grown and the role that bees play in pollination. During the greenhouse challenge, the children had to find and pick as many of the 17 different varieties of tomato grown on site as possible. The winning group, with 15 varieties, were given 17 tomato plants to bring back to school. We are now looking for somewhere to plant these so that we can grow our own delicious tomatoes.  Year 6 had a fantastic time and got to taste lots of delicious fresh produce. 

在北京德威，我们总是在校园里讨论可持续性发展，但是它在校外环境中是如何实践的呢？

上周，北京德威六年级学生来到北京以东40分钟车程的翻翻高技派乐活农场参观。这家农场与学校积极配合，教授孩子们可持续性农耕和粮食生产知识，还为学生们讲述农场的运作方式以及使用非化学品对于可持续性农耕的重要性。

同学们了解到，农业生产需要可持续性发展，否则会消耗过多资源。翻翻农场收集并循环利用水资源，因为要知道，在中国有63%的水资源都用在食品生产上。农业生产还会产生大量的二氧化碳，农场则利用温室来收集热量并将能源消耗降至最低。此外，他们还在试验使用包括竹子在内的可持续性建筑材料。

学生们还学习了西红柿种植知识以及蜜蜂在授粉中的作用。在温室挑战活动中，孩子们必须在现场种植的17个不同品种的西红柿中，分辨并摘选尽可能多的品种。获胜组找到15个品种，并赢得了17个品种的西红柿苗。学生们把它们带回到学校，现在正在寻找合适的种植地，想必很快我们就可以品尝到自己种的美味西红柿了！