At the first stage, greenhouses will be installed at 16 schools in Almaty. Later they will appear at the educational institutions in Nur-Sultan and Shymkent.
Bulat Utemuratov’s Foundationannounced the launch of the “Green Schools” project.
The first stage of the project will start in Almaty where Bulat Utemuratov’s Foundation will install greenhouses at 16 public schools. In the next two years, Nur-Sultan and Shymkent will join the initiative installing 40 more greenhouses. The first greenhouse opened at School No.177 in the Turksib District of Almaty.
Extracurricular activities within the framework of this initiative will be held in the new academic year for pupils in grades 5-7 at 16 public schools in Almaty. The total budget of the programme designed for three years will be about 2 million dollars.
“Green” technologies and ecological thinking is a global trend that becomes an integral part of our everyday life. Therefore, it is important to educate children from an early age in the spirit of ecoculture and to teach them take care of the environment, noted the Foundation.
“The Foundation has got an experience in implementation of projects in the field of conservation of the green fund of the country. In 2020, we have implemented a large-scale reconstruction of the Central Botanical Garden of Almaty. We tried and involved the best experts in horticulture and agronomy, and farmers of the Almaty Oblast engaged in organic agriculture, in the “Green Schools” project. Our big goal is to introduce lessons in greenhouses into the school curriculum for ensuring sustainability of the project in future,” said Marat Aitmagambetov, Director of Bulat Utemuratov’s Foundation.
All greenhouses are equipped with modern systems of drip irrigation, heating and lighting. Sixty metres long phytolines with blue and red diodes are responsible for the light that is useful for plants, which supports the biosynthesis and vegetation of plants, improves their growth and increases yields. To prevent freezing of vegetables and berry crops in winter, infrared heaters were installed and a heating cable was laid in the soil. Operation of the heaters depends on the data of indoor and outdoor thermostatic controllers. This allows to set the temperature required in the greenhouse in advance and turn on the heaters automatically when the temperature drops.
The heating cable is laid down along the greenhouse perimeter and prevents soil freezing, switching it on and off is also controlled automatically. All this helps to minimise impact of winter frosts on plants. Heating and lighting are powered by electricity that is supplied via a cable of non-flammable origin, all cable lines are laid in the protected corrugated pipe, and connecting elements are protected by distribution boxes.
“This is an excellent initiative. Almaty became the first city in Kazakhstan where the “Green Schools” programme starts, and city schoolchildren will have an opportunity to run projects in the all-year-round greenhouse. I am sure that practical classes within the optional course and biology lessons will be useful and timely,” thinks Akim of Almaty Bakytzhan Sagintayev.
Work in greenhouses will allow to supplement the school curriculum with practical classes and will become an excellent opportunity for teachers to give exciting extracurricular lessons. Schoolchildren will grow vegetables, berries and green stuff, and harvest will be used in demonstration projects and competitions between school teams.
