Celebrating 25 years as custodian and organiser of the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE), BT Ireland has a track record of inspiring progress among Irish students and schools who are breaking new ground.

This silver anniversary for BTYSTE was no different, and students around the country presented compelling solutions to the challenges of today with clarity and conviction.

A prominent area of research for students at BTYSTE continues to be agriculture and sustainability, with a particular focus on how these two terrains interact.

Irish Country Living spoke to the next generation of farmers and rural dwellers who are re-imagining the future of agriculture and environmental protection.

“We came up with the idea sitting in ag class"

Gerard Keogh (18) and Jared Weafer (18) from St Mel’s College in Co Longford returned to the RDS for a second year. Their project on upcycling waste streams for agriculture use and protecting water sources was Highly Commended.

“We were looking at using treated household waste to spread as fertiliser on land, because at the minute there's about 500m litres of unfiltered sewage being pumped out into open water in Ireland in 32 different places,” said Gerard.

“We came up with the idea sitting in ag [science] class and our teacher talked to us about Lough Neagh and the state that it was in. He said about 20% of that waste came from human waste being pumped out into the water.”

“Fertiliser prices are real high so we're looking at how you can fix two problems for farmers.”

“A lot of work has gone into the project,” said Jared, “but the whole process itself has been fun and interesting. You could say we’ve been working on it two years because we were here last year. It’s been great craic overall.”

"We’re just trying to help the farmers out”

Ava Daly (14), Laura Mahoney (14) and Mollie Collins (14) from St Joseph’s Community College in Co Clare got inspired to start their project during a sleepover at Laura’s home, a dairy farm in Kilkee. Their project on preventing mastitis in dairy cows was Highly Commended by the judges.

“We were at a sleepover at my house, and we went out in the morning with my dad to milk the cows,” explained Laura.

“We saw him injecting antibiotics into the cow's muscle, and then we wanted to come up with a more sustainable and organic way, so we did research and we came up with the three herbs - garlic, turmeric and aloe vera - and we made a paste, a powder and a mineral block that dissolves in water to naturally prevent mastitis and improve livestock health on dairy farms.”

Laura gave 30g of the mixture to 120 cows before they came in for milking each morning, and found that the milk yield increased by two litres per cow per day, as well as reduced antibiotic reliance among the herd.

“It's a really exciting experience and we're all so happy to be here and it's good to promote not using antibiotics and try to move to the herbal side. We’re just trying to help the farmers out,” Mollie said of their first time to participate in the the exhibition.

'Seaweed is the perfect fertiliser for Inis Oírr'

Originally from a farm in Co Roscommon, Gerald Greene (16) is studying at Coláiste Ghobnait in Inis Oírr, Co Galway for his transition year, where he started to research the use of seaweed as a fertiliser.

“I'm from a beef and cattle farm back home. I have a big interest in farming. We buy in one-year old heifers and sell them in the market at one year and six months old.”

“I saw the farmers on Inis Oírr were using seaweed as a fertiliser and on my farm back home, we spend a lot of money on artificial fertiliser and putting out a lot of slurry on the farm.”

Gerald took soil tests from his farm in Co Roscommon and compared the nutrients therein with soil tests from four different fields in Inis Oírr.

“I concluded that seaweed is the perfect fertiliser for Inis Oírr. All the farmers have to do is go down to the beach. It's just as simple as that. It's sustainable for the environment and it's free. When you cut it, it grows back within six months.”

Gerald plans to introduce seaweed as a fertiliser in his home farm to see how quickly grass grows.

From Japan to Ireland

Elodie O’Brien (15), a student at Woodbrook College, Bray Co Wicklow, compared the impact of different fertilisers on crop yield to see whether environmentally friendly fertilisers represent a viable alternative.

“During the pandemic, I really got into gardening. Then because of the war in Ukraine, I noticed that the price of commercial chemical fertilisers had been increasing and their carbon footprint was really high."

Elodie used a Japanese method of composting called bokashi to produce a solid fertiliser. She bought a bokashi bin in which she mixed her food waste.

“You can have a bokashi bin if you live in an apartment and you don't have a garden, so that's why it really stood out to me.”

“You can put in dairy products, meat, cooked food, anything. The microorganisms break down the proteins, the sugars, and the carbohydrates in the food,” said Elodie.

“So you put in your food waste in, close the bin and let it ferment for three weeks. Then you’ll produce liquid fertiliser to put it into your plants and a solid fertiliser to put in the soil.”