Aquaponics and Environmental Sustainability
Aquaponics is bringing about a new age of farming. Not familiar with aquaponics? It is the process of raising fish and plants inside of a system that doesn’t use soil, and it’s a very useful teaching tool in a classroom setting. Through my internship at Spark-Y, I have been able to see how this concept of aquaponics can be used to teach and empower youth. For example, at NEMS (North East Middle School) over the past week Spark-Y staff have been facilitating a build with the 7th grade classes. We taught them some safety rules for using power tools, and then we had them start to measure the wood and PVC and prep for cutting and drilling.
Currently we are still in the build process, but the plan for the next few weeks is to have the students continue cutting, drilling, and assembling the system. This build will last for a total of six weeks and at the end of the process they will have two new aquaponics systems that they can continue learning through. This is allows Spark-Y staff to empower students through hands-on experiential learning, while also giving them skills and information that is applicable to their daily lives.
Why is aquaponics so important to teaching sustainability? An average aquaponics system uses 90 per cent less water than conventional farming, because it is a closed system. (A closed system means that the water is reused and recycled through the system). Aquaponics allow people to grow their own fresh, healthy food all year round, regardless of the conditions outside. It also reduces green house gas emissions by 70 per cent due to it being an indoor system with minimal output. The system mimics the nitrogen cycle so there doesn’t need to be a filter, which allows for a more natural process.
This process cleans the water so that it is viable and ready for the fish to use. Some of you may be thinking: how does this system work? In most systems on a large scale the process is very simple. The water gets pumped from the sump tank into the fish tank (in some systems they are the same).
The fish create waste which inputs ammonia and bacteria into the system. From the tank, the water is then pumped into the grow bed where the plants are grown in grow media.
We use media instead of soil because the soil will clog up the system, which would kill the fish and plants. Grow media are porous and lightweight rocks which allow for water, bacteria, and nutrients to run through to deposit for the plants. The plants get their nutrients because the bacteria turns the ammonia into nitrites and then into nitrates. The plants are able to adsorb the nitrates which cleans the water for the fish. The water then runs down the grow bed and is dropped back down into the sump tank which allows the water to be put back through the system.
Hanging above the grow bed are grow lights which allow direct light all year round for the optimal growth of the plants. The design of the system is very intricate and if done right, it will yield harvest crops and fish all year round– even during the cold.
Spark-Y does a great job at working with what the youth want and showing them that aquaponics can be sustainable and lucrative if done right. To top it off it shows them what local and organic food systems are and how viable they are to our own personal and community health. It is an amazing concept that seems to really gain the students’ attention, keeping them engaged with the class. Overall aquaponics is an exceptional sustainable system that from my experience is changing the way kids learn and changing the way that they think. I know it’s definitely changing the way that I think!
This piece is part of a series written by college undergraduates enrolled in off-campus study programs through the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA). HECUA programs offer students a chance to think deeply about the issues that matter most, and we’d like to share a piece of that experience with you. Every student post on the HECUA Medium page considers a theory or reading that intersects with that student’s lived experience. For more information about HECUA programs, click here.
