Paul Ferguson, a Waste Water Treatment Plant Operator at Cavendish Farms, took six Prince Edward Island NCF-Envirothon participants on a tour of the Cavendish Farms Wetland.

NCF-Envirothon is an international, annual environmentally-themed academic competition for high school students that combines in-class and hands-on environmental education. Cavendish Farms sponsors the winning team from Prince Edward Island to compete in the international competition. The Envirothon is managed by the National Conservation Foundation.

During the tour, students learned about the waste water management and the engineered marsh built to purify waste water. 

The water used at Cavendish Farms’ plants in New Annan, PEI is sourced locally through a series of on-site wells. Once the water has been used to process potatoes, it is treated at the water treatment facility to ensure it complies with all environmental standards.

The engineered wetland provides a secondary measure to further purify the water. The water is piped into the wetland where it starts a 48-hour process of being filtered through a variety of plant species that further clean the water by absorbing nutrients. Daily sampling indicates that the marsh is effective year-round. 

Cavendish Farms is proud to sponsor a competition that increases environmental awareness.