Hands-on training for gastronomy students at Odayeri greenhouses

Students of the Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts visited the greenhouses established in Odayeri Neighborhood by Eyüpsultan Municipality as part of elective greenhouse cultivation courses. The students learned practical basic information such as drip irrigation method, planting frequency of seedlings, proper ventilation in greenhouses, and what to pay attention to on site. Eyüpsultan Municipality Park and Gardens Directorate, aiming to increase agricultural productivity in the district villages of Eyüpsultan and to ensure regional development, the greenhouses established in Odayeri Neighborhood are also drawing interest from agricultural departments of universities. In this context, 3rd-year students of Istanbul Galata University Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts, who took elective greenhouse cultivation courses, contacted Eyüpsultan Municipality and visited the greenhouses in Odayeri for examinations. The students, who took elective greenhouse cultivation courses in their field of study, not only received theoretical education but also saw it practically. Dr. Lecturer Alev Yüksel Birsel, who stated that the trip was fruitful and enjoyable for the students, said, ‘We contacted Eyüpsultan Municipality to visit the greenhouses, and they invited us. We were very pleased. They had already received the most basic information about greenhouse cultivation in the course theoretically. Here, they saw them applied. They had the opportunity to observe basic information such as drip irrigation method, planting frequency of seedlings, proper ventilation in greenhouses, and what to pay attention to on site. Also, there are many medicinal and edible plants that we did not see, which caught our interest. Of course, they were also interested because they are gastronomy students.’ The students who visited the greenhouse also tasted the first crops of cucumbers and strawberries.