Richmond Vale Academy will celebrate Earth Day 2016 with an open day at the institution in Richmond on April 30.
The event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., is free and is open to the public.
There will be presentations and displays on a number of topics, including cheesemaking, soapmaking, permaculture, climate compliance, crop rotation and organic farming, water conservation farming, bio gas, water harvesting, recycling of water, solar energy, and composting.
Students from the Richmond Vale Academy who did community service in a Garifuna community in the south of Belize will also make a presentation on their experiences there.
Guest speaker Luke Punnett will lead a discussion on permaculture and natural farming in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Participants in the April 30 event can win prizes, including a discovery dive.
Stina Herberg, principal of Richmond Vale Academy, encouraged the public to attend the event, which, she said, promises to be educational, informative and entertaining.
Herberg said: “At this event, persons can lean how to prepare better for climate change. Local and organic products will be on display and participants can learn how to make a number of products, including soap, cheese, and pasta. Moreover, Open Day at Richmond Vale Academy is an opportunity for people to network. Attendees often discover the high number of persons in St. Vincent and the Grenadines who are also concerned about a more sustainable and healthy St. Vincent and the Grenadines.”
Herberg also encouraged parents to bring their children to the event, saying that it is important that children are exposed to healthier, more-sustainable farming methods and food choices and an appreciation for the relationship between the environment and human lives.
Richmond Vale Academy is a non-profit institution that has trained 500 students from St. Vincent and the Grenadines and around the world over the past 10 years. Since 2002, its students have been participating in shorter and longer courses aimed at reducing poverty and protecting the environment.
The Academy also trains activists from all over the world to fight global warming and global poverty shoulder to shoulder with the poor.