By: Kayla, Avalon, Brendan, and Drew Aquaponics By: Kayla, Avalon, Brendan, and Drew

What is Aquaponics? Sustainable plant growing system Consists of plants, water, fish, and bacteria A continuous system that works together to clean and feed each part

Two Kinds of Systems Media-based (gravel bed system) Water from fish tank circulated through rocks allows plants to access nutrients Can either be continuous pump or flood and drain method Best with rooted plants Deep water culture Plants float above the water in foam “raft” Roots dangle into water Uses more water, which provides stable water temperature for plants/fish Best for leafy greens and herbs

Why Aquaponics? Uses 90% less water than current agricultural systems Also allows the growth and breeding of fish Ability to grow indoors when outside environment is not favorable

Conversation with PolyPonics Deep root (in water) successes: mint, basil, leafy greens Flood and drain beds successes: tomatoes, green beans, squash NOT celery, “Aquaponics celery tastes like broken dreams”

Ideas of Implementation Horticulture Therapy Sustainable and healthy food source for prisons Sustainable food for developing countries short on water or with difficult weather patterns

Aquaponics as Horticulture Therapy Growing and caring for plants is shown to improve mental health Aquaponics would be a sustainable way to grow plants as food Easy to grow Gives the person a sense of responsibility and purpose

Why it didn’t work When an aquaponics system dies, there is a lot of death Dead plants Dead fish Dirty water Not a good end result for a horticulture therapy garden

Aquaponics as a prison food source In many prisons across the US, inmates only rarely receive eggs, dairy or meat and fresh fruit and vegetables are sometimes banned altogether. Aquaponics could be used to grow fresh produce in an easy, sustainable way

Why it didn’t work Conversation with Cal Poly sociology professor Dr. Alaniz Difficult to get permission from the warden Too much potential for weapons to be made from the system’s parts Not likely much funding

Final decision: Aquaponics in Ethiopia Studies were done in Shewa Robit and Hawassa and found that these areas suffered the most from food insecurity and the diet that they did have was very low in protein and lacked vegetables. Hope to increase the production of fish and vegetables while saving on scarce resources such as water Business models are being produced to establish aquaponics systems can be produced without external funding

Nutrition/Health in Ethiopia Twenty-nine percent of Ethiopian women are malnourished 44 percent of children suffer from chronic under-nutrition Undernutrition is an underlying cause of 53 percent of infant and child deaths Lack of dietary diversity and micronutrient-dense food consumption contribute to the high rates of child undernutrition One quarter of women of reproductive age are undernourished, Causes: low birth weight, short stature, lower resistance to infections, and higher risk of disease and death

Development Model Charity Grassroots The supplies to get started will be given including the pumps, piping, seeds, and constructible beds What will not be supplied - Fish, Water, continued support of system Grassroots Once the system has been built the systems will be maintained by the community This will include changing water, monitoring the fish and health of plants, making sure the system stays running

Why Ethiopia population growth has led to water shortages and land degradation 5 case studies found that aquaponics do actually reduce water and land use compared to conventional agriculture current difficulties is the lack of quality fish – feed Black Soldier Fly Larvae could be helpful in producing a renewable source of food for the fish

Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) The potential benefits are: reduction of costs, independency of waste reduction downsides are the difficulty of the breeding process, insufficient breeding quality, fear for disease and the amount of labor needed for the breeding process to occur

If we had more time… Do more research on ways to reduce the cost of material for an aquaponics system Get in touch with organization or local people on the ground