VEGGIE TALES
Of course, the fish are only one half of the aquaponics
balance, and the shared health of the project’s plants is
just as critical to Cottman’s lesson plan.
“Ecosystems are not isolated, but connected,” he noted.
“An imbalance in one can have effects on many others.”
This lesson certainly wasn’t lost on Mellensky and
Williamsen, who pointed out the intricacy of keeping
plants flourishing, even when fish were doing well.
“I have experience growing plants outdoors as
well as indoors,” Williamsen said, but he still
had to improvise to find ways of preventing
plants from being “too thin and tall.” Many
plants in the aquaponic setup were quick
to sprout, but ended up faltering just two
weeks into the experiment. The students had
to experiment with the levels of nutrients,
moisture, and natural and artificial light to
stabilize plant growth.
fig.2 spinach
CROP ROTATION
With his first iteration of aquaponics successfully
underway, Cottman is looking forward to expanding the
scope of the experiment — on both halves of the equation.
“The aquarium will be turned into a model of a freshwater
creek or stream in the spring with the addition of
freshwater plants and local freshwater species of fish, like
catfish and perch,” he told us. “Then the hope is to install
vegetable gardens on the campus where the seedlings
from the system can be transplanted and grown for local
food banks.”
As for Williamsen and Mellensky, who graduate this year,
they’ve learned a great deal about ecosystems, chemistry,
and the interdependency of plant, animal, and human life.
Nurturing so many living things can be both challenging
and rewarding.
“I think [after all this] I might try a hydroponics setup
at home…” Williamsen concluded, “… just one that
doesn’t use fish.”
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