The ISTA Award went to Seán Allen, Roscommon Community College, Co. Roscommon for his project, ‘A Novel Alternative to Synthetic Fertilisers’. Seán’s teacher, Elizabeth Glancy participated in SciFest herself many years ago. The second project of hers won the SciFest Social Sciences Award.

Sean’s Abstract: The EU is regulating synthetic fertilisers heavily in the next number of years as it is significantly contributing to climate change. I want to find a more sustainable way of getting nutrients into the soil, rather than as a synthetic granule. I tested waste milk as an alternative fertiliser as it is heavily wasted within the agricultural sector. I also tested anaerobic digestate as it is a by-product of the methane fermentation process. I want to see if it would be a possible sustainable, alternative way of making fertilisers, because it uses waste products to make it. I also tested a mixture of both waste milk and anaerobic digestate to compare their effectiveness as a fertiliser.

I also investigated the method used to spread the fertiliser, as this is currently a topical debate. I used two different methods of spreading the fertiliser – dribble bar cover and splash plate cover. My reasons for investigating the two different types of spreading were to take variability out of the question in the main part of the project. At the end of my trial I will compare the results of the two different types of spreading.

After the initial tests are carried out, I waited six months to investigate the long-term effects of the treatments on the soil, and how well the nutrients stayed in the ground over a long period of time. I carried out dry matter tests on week three and week six on the grass and soil.