STOCKHOLM, Sweden, April 14, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- 13-year-old Jason Julies in South Africa is participating in a www.VolvoOceanAdventure.org project that may help the survival of fish stocks in the local river, while at the same time generating jobs for the unemployed.
"We hope to find a way of removing the harmful water hyacinths," he explains. The opportunities and scope for working with the Volvo Ocean Adventure differ markedly between schools around the world. Jason's school, Jurie Hayes Primary School, has 655 pupils but the school has just one computer - the one in the school's administrative office.
However, although the Volvo Ocean Adventure is structured around the Internet, the main focus is not on this electronic medium and the facilities it offers, but rather on the pupils' ideas and their dedication to environmental issues. Jason lives on South Africa's west coast, a couple of hours' drive north of Cape Town. The River Berg empties into the ocean close to where he lives. Both the river and the sea are vital to the fishermen who work these waters.
"I know one of the fishermen," relates Jason, "and I know the problems they have when the tough water hyacinths get caught up in the boats' propellers and in the fishing-nets. "Not only that, these plants spread very quickly. When they die, they sink to the riverbed and are broken down organically, and this process consumes a lot of the oxygen in the water so the fish there find it difficult to survive," Jason explains.
Water hyacinths are a problem in many parts of tropical Africa. Jason's project brings together four pupils from different areas in and around Cape Town who work jointly to investigate various watercourses. What they are trying to find is a sway of harnessing the water hyacinth for something that is both productive and profitable.
"We know it is possible to make paper from water hyacinths," says Jason. "In fact, there is a factory making this kind of paper in Cape Town."
Another application is to compost the water hyacinths and gain organic - natural - fertiliser from the process. This is something that Jason has tested. "It didn't quite work out the first time, but I'm going to have another try and this time I'll mix in a bit more sand."
Jason also talks about other ideas such as making soap from water hyacinths, and he says he has heard that it is possible to cook and eat these plentiful plants. "What is most important, I think, is to find a use for water hyacinths where they have some kind of value, where someone is prepared to pay for them," he reflects.
The area where Jason Julies lives is poor and unemployment is high. If it were possible to find a use for water hyacinths where people were actually willing to pay for them, many local people would find employment harvesting and selling the plants.
"For me, it is as important that the project should lead to jobs, as it is to get rid of the water hyacinths from the river and thus improve the environment," Jason explains. "And I really, really hope that our project is one of those selected as a winner in the Volvo Ocean Adventure so that I get to travel to Sweden."
Water hyacinths are a major problem in many parts of Africa. Jason Julies's project aims at finding a way of making the plants commercially profitable. There is just one computer in the school, which has 655 pupils. It sits in the school's administrative office and Jason Julies is allowed to use it whenever he needs it for his project. If you would like to write to Jason, in either English or Afrikaans, the school's e-mail address is admin@juriehayesps.wcape.school.za
Facts
Volvo Ocean Adventure
- The Volvo Ocean Adventure is a global Internet-based environment-education programme for youths aged 10-16 years.
- Teachers and students have free access to comprehensive training material on the Internet that deals with local and global environmental issues linked to water and the oceans.
- The material is closely linked to the Volvo Ocean Race. All the competing boats carry instruments that register and transmit data about the amount of phytoplankton in the waters through which they sail.
- The Volvo Ocean Adventure encourages students to undertake their own environment-related projects. They can submit these projects and compete over various prizes, among them trips to an environmental conference for youngsters held in Sweden and organised by Volvo.
- More information about the project can be obtained from www.volvooceanadventure.org
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