UC Irvine students are helping a high school in California grow its own food

The aquaponics project was proposed by the EWB Outreach Committee

The EWB which stands for the Engineers Without Borders is one of the most interesting clubs of UCI. The club has many projects and I am currently involved in the International and Fundraiser Projects and the Outreach Committee. We spoke to the Outreach Committee and our current Project in which I am spearheading a group of five students.

We have been going to Pacifica High School — located in Garden Grove, CA — and proposing project ideas and getting interested students involved. The current project students are working on is aquaponics — a fancy word for the combination of aquaculture and hydroponics.

What is aquaponics?

Aquaponics refers to any system that combines conventional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as snails, fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. The aquaponics cycle works like so: fish produce waste, the microbes and worms convert the waste to fertilizer for plants, and the plants filter water which then returns to the fish.

The outcome of this system? Pacifica students grow their own food! They use 90 per cent less water and space to grow vegetables and fish.

What they grow

At the school, they have three systems of aquaponics, and they produce foods such as broccoli, lettuce, spinach, squash, tilapia and catfish. All plants are grown from seeds and the fish are purchased as fingerlings. They harvest the vegetables throughout the year and the fish are eaten at the end of each school year. All the students of the school are permitted on the premises and can eat the food grown.

A breakdown of the systems

System one is a flood model — every fifteen minutes, water is pumped to the fish tank to irrigate and feed the plants. In system two, water and nutrients are constantly being pumped to feed the plants through the 4-inch pipe. The last system is a towel model, in which water and nutrients are constantly being pumped to feed the plants through the ½ inch pipe.

What are the benefits?

Aquaponics systems are easy to construct and operate — they’re high efficiency, but low maintenance. They reduce runoff and produce minimal waste, which makes for cleaner oceans. Also, you know exactly what’s in the food you’re eating (because you grew it!).

Other aspects of the project

In addition, to aquaponics, an aeroponics system — a way of growing plants in an air/mist environment with no soil and very little water can be implemented. Aeroponics systems can reduce water usage by 98 percent, fertilizer usage by 60 percent, and pesticide usage by 100 percent, all while maximizing crop yields. Plants grown in the aeroponic systems have also been shown to uptake more minerals and vitamins, making the plants healthier and potentially more nutritious.

Another cool part of the aquaponics is the Farm Fountain, a system for growing edible and ornamental fish and plants in a constructed, indoor ecosystem. Based on the concept of aquaponics, this hanging garden fountain uses a simple pond pump, along with gravity to flow the nutrients from fish waste through the plant roots. The plants currently growing include lettuces, cilantro, mint, basil, tomatoes, chives, parsley, mizuna, watercress and tatsoi. The Tilapia fish used is also edible.

The students involved in the project are delighted to be a part of such an interesting project. Students who aren’t a part of the project are trying to get involved. During the breaks, you will see students hanging around, eating lunch or just talking by the aquaponics system.

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