We are grateful for the enthusiasm you showed while
selecting groups you were planning to work with last week.
We called for a general meeting but unfortunately
the turn up was not really good. Therefore we would like to take this opportunity
to inform you what we wanted you to know in that meeting.
The Biotech and Research Club came up with an idea
of a total of four projects;
- Aquaponics
- Bag Gardening
- Mushroom Cultivation
- Ecology of Kyambogo
These projects were selected out of the many because
are in line with the Objectives and Vision of the club.
Briefly this is what these projects are;
Aquaponics:
This is a combination of two agriculture methods to
create an altogether superior and environmentally friendly way of growing your
own organic food. Aquaponics is a method which uses the combination of aquaculture- the growing of fishes, and
hydroponics- the method of growing
plants without using soil. The combination of the two yields an organic
gardening system that provides fresh plants, vegetables and fish for food.
Research has shown that aquaponically grown plants
mature two times faster than those grown on soil.
Bag
Gardening:
This an activity of growing plants in a sack. The bags
are filled with soil, manure and stones in a systematic order.
Seedlings of vegetables like Irish potatoes, onions,
carrots are planted in each of the sacks both on top and around the sack.
After planting the seedlings, they are watered to harvesting
time.
Mushroom
cultivation:
Here we will be trying to imitate the natural
conditions under which mushrooms grow such that we can grow them artificially. This
project contains a lot of microbiology which will help us to apply what we have
learnt for example culturing of mushroom spawn, sterilization and so on.
Ecology
of Kyambogo:
Creating a source of information about the University’s
ecology for educational purposes.
After somewhat sufficient research, it has been concluded
that there is no literature on the general ecology
of Kyambogo University (KYU). And yet this information would be a good
referential source when studying general ecology and also useful during
research by students or visiting scholars.
For example the study of the effects of man’s activities on
the environment causing climatic change would need a data base on the ecology
of the area studied.
When studying ecology, the biotechnology students refer to
international text books, which give information about the ecology of foreign
lands. This limits the application of what has been studied; hence failure to
come up with solutions to related problems faced by the local people and the
country at large.
Studying the ecology of Kyambogo University (KYU) will create
an informatory source, provide applicable information to ecology students,
facilitate the general study of ecology in Uganda and facilitate research
activities by providing reference materials ( Oketcho Ketra - Chairperson)
