Our Sponsorship Night - A Great Success!

  
On Tuesday the 21st of June the students held a Fund raising / Sponsorship night to help to work towards raising the $6000 that they need to assist in the funding of the Vet Mobility Scholarship Scheme.

This saw plenty of family / friends and industry representatives arriving at the Bunurong restaurant,  located at the Frankston Campus of Chisholm Institute. Here, we were all treated to an evening of finger food which was expertly served by students from the VET in Schools Hospitality program.


Our MC for the night was the tour leader, Tony Bundock, and there was also a silent auction.

Each one of the students was invited to give a short presentation to those present and outline there projects and industry partnerships.


The evening raised a staggering $2800 after costs. This was largely due to some very generous organisations who supported the students. These were namely National Australia Bank, EE Muirs, Trandos Hydroponic Growers and AIS Greenworks. 


This weekend the students will be at Akoonah Park market in Berwick and will be running a plant stall to try and raise the balance of the funds required. Their previous market day saw them raise nearly $1000 so they are certainly well on the way to achieving their targets.

Meeting with the C.E.O.

As part of the process for students to travel overseas, each student has to attend a briefing by the Chisholm Chief Executive Officer, Maria Peters. This is to allow for the CEO to discuss the expectations of the students as Chisholm ambassadors.

Last Tuesday the group met with CEO Maria Peters and Chisholm Director Malcolm Macpherson to discuss their roles and to outline their projects. This in turn allowed both Maria and Malcolm an insight in to the directions of the students' studies and their ultimate goals, both during the trip and on their return.

Pictured left to right:- Kylie Rowe, Tony Bundock, Vanessa Caldarera, Chisholm CEO Maria Peters, 

Catherine Ashton, Liam Frogley, Ray Agrotis, Wayne Hobson, Chisholm Director Malcolm Macpherson

Project Updates - Water management and Glasshouse Design

 

Whilst the Outbound Mobility project requires each student to undertake one project, Wayne Hobson has decided to undertake two projects while he is overseas!

Wayne's industry partner is Kingston Heath Golf Course who are getting set to undertake some major works in relation to both storage dam and irrigation development. Wayne will be investigating technologies and systems that are utilised in the Netherlands in terms of water management that can be implemented in Australia.

For his second project, Wayne will also be looking to gain a broad overview of the design factors and costings that are associated with building a modern glasshouse propagation facility. The results of his findings will be utilized by Kingston Heath to assist them with their plans to establish a purpose built propagation house as part of their ongoing need to revegetate this prestigious golf course with a range of plant material..

Project updates - Innovations in Irrigation systems and management

If you ask Liam Frogley what his passion is - he will tell you that it's Irrigation!

Liam's project involves investigating the latest innovations in irrigation that are currently being utilised in the Netherlands, and identifying systems and technology that can be translated to Australian conditions.

 

Through his studies at Chisholm, Liam has developed a keen interest for all aspects of irrigation system management and design, and he is keen to look at 'smart' methods for not only controlling systems but to apply water in an efficient and cost effective mode. This desire and drive for knowledge has been reflected in Liam's ability as he was recently awarded the 'Apprentice of the Year' award at Chisholm Institute.

Whilst he is in the Netherlands, Liam will also be looking at the practice of water recycling and treatment in relation to sustainable water practices.

Liam is currently talking to industry representatives who will hopefully partner with him for this project.

Project updates - Combined Heat and Power usage

Ray Agrotis's project involves investigating the concept of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) usage, and identifying models that can be implemented in Australia.

CHP integrates the production of usable heat and power (electricity), in one single, highly efficient process, and CHP plants generally meet local energy needs; certainly heat, also power and increasingly cooling. 

CHP units also avoid additional efficiency losses of around 7% incurred through transmission and distribution of electricity through the National Grid and local distribution networks – as energy is lost travelling long distances to reach its end user.

Although this concept is relatively new to Australia, CHP is widely used in Europe. Ray will be looking to investigate existing systems, and interact with growers who utilise CHP to gain an inside perspective on the issues that surround this concept.

Ray's goal is to look at forming a partnership with a consortium of suppliers who will be able to work with growers to establish CHP units as part of the growing infrastructure.

Ray is currently talking to industry representatives who will hopefully partner with him for this project.

Project updates - Development of a web based platform for vegetable sales

Vanessa Caldarera's project will see her investigating the various options that are available for presentation and marketing of glasshouse grown vegetables, and then promoting the sale of the produce through an interactive web page.

Her project will initially see her working with Chisholm Institute as her industry partner, and once she has her project established, Vanessa is looking to trial her system with other growers.

Vanessa's initial research has found that a staggering 70% of the Australian public interact in some form of social networking and e commerce, and is looking to capitalise on this vast interest through the use of her website.

Whilst overseas Vanessa will be focusing on all aspects of product handling and packaging to give her a better insight in to the operations that lead up to the marketing process.

Her ultimate goal is to provide an electronic medium that allows growers ease of marketing, better sales and returns, and which ultimately sees the consumer gaining access to fresh produce through an alternative supply source.

Project updates - Accurate management of fertiliser content in recycled irrigation systems

Kylie Rowe's project involves identifying suitable software packages to assist growers in the area of fertiliser calculation when recycling drain water from closed irrigation systems, so that growers can formulate their crop nutrition programs and irrigation schemes, by integrating virtually all relevant cultivation parameters.

Whilst the concept of recycling water is not new, Kylie's investigations have identified that many growers are struggling with the issues surround the re dosing of recycled drain water, and being able to accurately maintain correct levels of individual elements to provide a balanced feed regime.

Kylie has been looking at a number of software models that offer a potential solution to the issue, and she is currently working closely with fertiliser manufacturer Haifa to identify a reliable and user friendly software package.

Whilst in the Netherlands, Kylie will be investigating what systems and processes that are being used by some of Holland's leading growers, and then translating these findings in to a workable solution for Australian growers.

Kylie is keen to trial her findings on the Chisholm Institute irrigation system, and will then be looking to showcase her findings via industry seminar sessions.

Her goal is that her findings will encourage growers with open systems to more readily undertake recycling as an irrigation and management process.