(VOVworld) – Students at An Lac Thon High School in Ke Sach district, Soc Trang province, have come up with a number of environmental protection initiatives though they haven’t yet finished school. Their initiatives have received awards in national and international competitions.

The group researches how to make organic pesticide (Photo: tinmientay.net)

The problem of keeping water cold while traveling inspired La Ngoc My, Nguyen Thi Hao, and Le Thi Hanh Nhi of An Lac Thon High School to make an environment-friendly thermo-insulated bag.

Using sponges and fabric scraps, the students designed an insulated water bottle cover which keeps water cold up to 98% longer and is friendly to the environment. 7-grader Le Ngoc Hanh Nhi, speaking for the group, told us: “When the weather is hot, iced drinks are the number one remedy for a majority of students. An iced water bottle is usually carried in a plastic bag which doesn’t keep the water cold very long and is usually thrown away later. Plastic bags are a major contributor to environmental pollution.”

Another innovation of the school’s students is an organic pesticide. According to a student research group, an enormous amount of vegetation is destroyed by insects, prompting farmers to use chemical pesticides which are harmful to people’s health and the environment.

But the students’ pesticide is made from wild plants and a plant called “derris”. Nguyen Minh Tuong, a member of the student group, told VOV: “I’m glad to belong to this research group which combines what I study in class with actual practice. The media often report on increasing environmental pollution making the globe warmer. Our project conveys a message to all that we should protect the environment for a better and safer life.”

Experiments showed that the organic pesticide kills 95% of leaf worms. The students hope that their product will be introduced widely and used as an alternative to the chemical pesticides, currently in use.

With the insulated bottle cover and organic pesticide the teachers and students of An Lac Thon High School won second and third prize at the first “Green Innovation Award” competition sponsored by the General Department of Environment and the Ho Chi Minh Youth Union.

Nguyen Ngoc Hai, a biology teacher at An Lac Thon High School who advises the student research group, said: “Two projects of my students have received awards. They have worked hard to generate projects and carry them to completion with the school rector’s support and encouragement I help the students realize their research projects. The more I work with the students, the more inspired I get, because they have so many good ideas.”

The 33-year-old school has now participated in 13 science contests at the provincial, national, and international level. It has won more than 60 awards, including at a contest in Sweden to conserve water resources, where its project ranked in the top 25.