31 Jul PhytoSUDOE´s training activities in Galicia (high school and Master level)
Guided visits for secondary school students (IIAG-CSIC)
The Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiológicas de Galicia (IIAG) of the CSIC received students from Galician secondary schools as well as technical colleges. Students were guided around the institute and took part in different activities. The Soil Microbiology Group presented the PhytoSUDOE project to the students and its main objectives and activities. Students were shown the greenhouses and propagation of trees for plantation in field sites S7 and S8. They also carried out a small practical class using metal-hyperaccumulating plant species to demonstrate their capacity to accumulate extreme concentrations of Ni in aboveground tissues.
Students were received from the IES Parga Pondal (Carballo, La Coruña), Compañía de María (Santiago de Compostela) and Polytechnic Institute of Conxo (Santiago de Compostela). Around 20 students were received during each visit.
Seminars for students of Master in Environmental Engineering at USC
The students of the Master of Environmental Engineering of the USC attended specialized seminars within the module of Soils and Wastes, in which members of the Interreg Phytosudoe Project teach on a regular basis. With the aim of disseminating the most relevant aspects of the project, Petra Kidd, project coordinator (in the image that heads this post), participated as speaker. The objectives of improving soil fertility and recovering ecosystem services in the degraded sites of the Interreg-SUDOE space, by phytomanagement, aroused great interest amongst the students. Many of their questions focused on the use of heavy metal-hyperaccumulating plants, the application of soil amendments formulated from solid wastes, the inoculation of plants with beneficial microorganisms and obtaining valuable products, such as biomass or metal rich products with strategic interest. The students then presented a critical review of the lessons learnt.