Today (5 June) is a day when people around the world come together to recognise the importance of protecting our planet - it is World Environment Day.
As Kent’s only rural and land-based college, this global movement led by the United Nations to encourage awareness and action for the environment, is very important to us.
Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do, from how we manage our land to the way we teach.
We have already joined forces with numerous education providers from around the world to take a stand against climate change by signing the UN’s ‘Race to Zero’ campaign.
This commits us to three actions:
- Mobilising more resources for action-oriented climate change research and skills creation;
- Pledge to reach net-zero by 2030, or 2050 at the very latest,
- Increasing the delivery of environmental and sustainability education across curriculum, campus and community outreach programmes
A big step towards this came with the creation of a new ‘robotic orchard and vineyard’ here a Hadlow.
This two-hectare area, showcases the latest technology including automated AI management systems, a state-of-the-art irrigation, fertigation and frost protection system and automated fruit picking.
The crops are grown with sustainability in mind at all times. Drones are used to monitor bud set, predict yields and monitor the growth of the crop allowing precise applications of nutrition, pest and disease control methods to be used.
Sensors are installed throughout the orchard to monitor amongst other things moisture, relative humidity, PAR, rain fall plus other exciting sensors which are currently being developed.
Along with Kent’s Further Education Colleges and the Chamber of Commerce, we are also part of a collaborative project looking at decarbonisation and skills shortages in identified industry sectors.
These are just a couple of the exciting initiatives we have in place to ensure we are educating future generations on the importance of preserving our environment for the benefit of society and the economy.
To find out more about the College and what you can study here visit the subject list section of our website.
To find out more about World Environment Day, visit the World Environment Day website.