“We are farmers, scientists and environmentalists too. We want to help resolve the ammonia levels issue,” said two Laois pupils, who took the overall runner-up prize at the Intel mini scientist national finals last week.

Their project was focused on what they said are excessive ammonia levels in the air as a result of intensive farming and slurry spreading in particular.

Timahoe National School pupils Seamus Ramsbottom and David Galwey impressed 13 judges throughout the day in the Aula Maxima at Maynooth University to bring home the coveted award.

Seamus and David, who are both 12, qualified for the national finals with ‘Let’s Look at Ammonia’ after exhibiting at the regional finals held in Blanchardstown IT last December.

Agriculture, Seamus contended, accounts for 98% of ammonia emissions in Ireland. “It was identified as an issue in 2013 but since the abolition of milk quotas in 2015 and the huge increase in the national dairy herd, it has become an even bigger problem.”

The biggest issue, David maintained, is with splash plate slurry spreading. “This method of spreading releases the slurry as a spray and ammonia gas escapes into the atmosphere. Splash plates are banned in Germany and Holland but unfortunately most slurry in Ireland is spread this way,” said David.

There are alternative low emission methods that farmers can use and the Government must enforce these methods. We are in the process of testing atmospheric ammonia levels – ammonia in the air – on Seamus’ farm. We tested the ammonia levels during the ‘off season’ and now we are retesting since the spreading season started back on January 15.

“When finished, we will compare the results which will highlight the effect the slurry has on air quality,” David said.

Throughout the project the boys corresponded with a number of agricultural bodies in a bid to resolve the issue. They spoke with Dr. David Kelleghan and Dr. Thomas Cummins in the soil science department in University College Dublin (UCD), who have undertaken ammonia testing in the past.

They were said to be very impressed with the boys’ project, saying that their testing of atmospheric ammonia levels was an important missing link in the process.

Dr. Dominika Krol, who works as a researcher with Teagasc in Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, has invited the boys to help her carry out ammonia trials in the spring.

Contact with minister

The pupils were also in contact with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed. They submitted their project conclusions and recommendations to the minister.

The boys said that the minister responded by saying that he would have to implement their recommendations in order to resolve the ammonia problem. “It was great to get a letter from the minister,” said Seamus.

“We gave him a number of recommendations from our project and he said he would need to consider them if we are to meet our 2030 emissions targets.”

Seamus said he was delighted that all the hard work in trying to resolve the problem had paid off. “The judges were very nice and we can be happy that we gave it our best shot,” he said.

David said that he really enjoyed the experience and was amazed at the interest in the project.

The backdrop and display also came in for praise at the Maynooth exhibition. Supporting Seamus and David at the event were teachers Michael McEvoy and Anne Mathews along with their siblings and proud parents.

Over the last seven years, Timahoe has picked up a national award at every final. Now in its 14th year, the Intel mini scientist competition gives pupils the chance to explore science through project-based learning and exhibitions.

The first phase of the programme involved over 8,000 pupils participating at exhibitions in their schools, which are visited by Intel employees who judge the first round of exhibitions and select a winning project to go forward to a regional final. Only 20 projects qualify for the national finals.

Agriculture and the environment were prominent themes among projects at the final.

Role played by drones

‘Farming of the Future’ by students from St. Mary’s & St. Gerard’s National School, Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, received the prize for most innovative idea. The project looked at the role drones can play in agriculture in the future as well as a clever irrigation system for farmers operating in hot climates.

The winning project was ‘Carboscan’ and came from Alexandra College, Rathmines. Carboscan is an innovative app enabling people to track their carbon footprint on a daily basis and view the grams of Co2 equivalent for all the products they purchase by simply scanning the product’s commercial barcode.