About 30 students opted not to rush home for the weekend on May 9, opting to stay awake all night at school to raise money for permaculture.Starting the evening of May 9 to the morning after, students were participating in the second annual Wake-a-thon at Deer Meadow School.They were members of the Interact Club at Olds High School, a student-run club that fundraises and brings awareness to various causes.This one was permaculture, which is creating systems of sustainable agriculture that are modelled on the natural ecosystem.According to club co-president Luke Radau, practices such as using recycled water and growing crops sustainably are used in developing countries.“And this is providing an opportunity for people to get food, which means they can get an education and not have to worry so much about just surviving on a daily basis,” Radau said.To pass the time, students participated in a number of team-building games. They also went bowling and fuelled up on caffeine together during a Tim Hortons run in the wee hours of the morning.The approximately 30 students who took part were required to raise a minimum of $25 but most had pledges of more than $70, said co-president Dylan Doucet.He believes students embraced the concept for its simplicity compared to other activities required of other fundraising campaigns.“A lot of people are like, I don't want to starve myself for however long. Or I don't want to run for however long. Stay up all night? I do that on a weekly basis anyway,” Doucet said.With all the possible causes to take up, co-president Kristin Heemeryck said a local connection helped them decide on this one.“We thought permaculture was a good program to get involved with because it was created by a local person here in Olds. So we really wanted to help them out and get their ideas out and about.”[email protected]
