BY IKHILI EBALU, BENIN CITY.
The Centre for Global Eco-Innovation University of Benin (CGE-Nigeria) yesterday harped on the need to stimulate the interest of young minds in bioenergy and renewable energy.
Team Lead,UNIBEN ACTUATE Project and CGE-Nigeria Director, Prof. Lawrence Ikechukwu Ezemonye,, made the call in Benin City during the ACTUATE Stakeholders Engagement Workshop for Primary School Pupils and Secondary School Students with theme : “Stimulating the Interest of Young Africans in Bioenergy, Environmental Sustainability and the Circular Economy”.
Ezemonye said that the student engagement workshop was organised by the Centre for Global Eco-Innovation University of Benin (CGE-Nigeria) in collaboration with Lancaster University, UK, the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF -EPSRC), and the Global Research Translation Award (GRTA), the funders of the ACTUATE Project.
Declaring the workshop open, the Team Lead, UNIBEN ACTUATE Project and CGE-Nigeria Director, Professor Lawrence Ikechukwu Ezemonye, represented by Professor Christopher Emokaro, informed participants that one of the aims of the ACTUATE project is to sow a seed that will outlive the initiators.
He informed the pupils and students that the workshop was organised to expose them to issues that would transform their minds and mould their perceptions about the environment, organic farming, and waste management.
Dr. Andrew Amenaghawon, while giving an overview of the ACTUATE project, opined that the day’s event was designed for the pupils and secondary school students because they represented the future generation that would drive the process of moving away from energy sources that would harm our environment.
In her presentation, Oluwole Mercy, who spoke about organic farming, enumerated some benefits of organic farming to include: conservation of the environment and natural resources; ensuring ecological balance, encouraging sustainable agriculture; improving soil fertility; conservation of flora and fauna; increased genetic diversity and reducing chemical pollution and toxic residue in the environment. She also highlighted some challenges faced by practitioners of organic farming.
In another presentation, Ofolue Favour spoke about waste management. She made a distinction between waste disposal and waste management and enumerated the various ways that waste could be managed to include; reuse, recycling and treatment. She warned that improper management of waste would have adverse effects on man, the atmosphere, the soil and water bodies.
Another student, Miss Omigie Favour spoke about biogas energy. She explained that biogas is an environment-friendly renewable energy source which is produced when micro-organisms act on organic matter like food waste, plant waste or animal waste through a process known as anaerobic digestion.
Some undergraduate students of the University of Benin, who are renewable energy practitioners, took turns to encourage the students and pupils to be passionate, purposeful, and determined if they desired to pursue a career in renewable technology.
The also showcased some of the renewable energy products like solar torches which they invented. The Centre Director, National Centre for Energy and Environment (Energy Commission of Nigeria), University of Benin, Prof. Dennis Igbinomwahia, also proffered some words of advice to the participants on the need to protect the environment.
Participants who were made up of pupils of the University Staff School (USS) and students of the University Demonstration Secondary School (UDSS) were taken on a guided tour to the ACTUATE Bio-digester Site located a few metres from the venue of the workshop.
At the Bio-digester Site, Dr. Mike Ajieh, an AD Engineer and member of the UNIBEN ACTUATE Team, made a practical demonstration of the process of digestion, biogas production and digestate production.