Liesa says their first idea was a digester to break down the food and make it into fertiliser.
“We built the digester and then did a test. For the first round, we blended the waste and then put it into the digester. We left it to ferment for two weeks and it created fertiliser and gas. For our second test we didn’t blend the food waste and it was a much longer process.”
She says the digester was a solution, but the pair wanted something that would work quicker.
“We decided to try to split the school lunches between two providers to give the students more selection but to also try and take the pressure off the providers. This had a lot of positive benefits and we managed to cut down our waste.”
Happy with their results, Emilia says they submitted their findings.
“We then got selected for this course. We were both so rapt. In Qatar we took part in a week-long course with students from across the world.”
The course took part in Qatar’s Education City, and Liesa says a highlight was listening to the speakers.
“We each talked about our projects and had the honour of listening to Dame Jane Goodall speak. It truly was an inspiring week.”
They also took part in a number of fun activities, says Emilia, with the group camping in the desert and also travelling on a dhow, a traditional sailing boat.
“It was just an experience that was both eye-opening and informative. We both feel absolutely privileged to have been on the course and thankful for all we learnt.”
