Research Experience
Aquaponics December 2012 - May 2013
In the second half of my senior year I was fortunate to be involved with the aquaponics senior research class led by Paula Turkon. Aquaponics combines aquaculture (fish-farming) with hydroponics (soil-less plant growing). Through this research I realized my love for local food production systems and how alternative methods such as aquaponics provide practical solutions to many of the issues presented by the modern food system. For example, aquaponics eliminates the need for added chemical fertilizers and pesticides as the fish waste is converted by nitrifying bacteria into plant food in a closed loop system. Aquaponics uses 85-90% less water than traditional agriculture and can be built on any scale—from commercial to small, backyard-sized systems. The fact that aquaponics is so much more water efficient that traditional spray irrigation practices makes it especially attractive for arid climates. People living in arid environments which would otherwise disallow crop production due to lack of productive soil and available freshwater can now produce their own vegetables and fish—significantly decreasing their carbon footprint. Aquaponics does not fight nature, rather, it mimics the balance and functioning of a natural ecosystem wherein the living components mutually benefit from one another. It also relies on one of the most important natural cycles on earth—the nitrogen cycle. From a Public Health perspective, aquaponics represents the new type of ecological, systems thinking that will be necessary in an age of rapidly depleting natural resources and a growing global population.
Aquaponics allows for the integration of all of the various environmental interests I have developed while at IC. Clearly it is a natural fit into my Public Health concentration. Increasing food security, conserving water, eliminating harmful chemicals from our crops and our wastewater effluent, as well as relieving pressure on both overharvested fisheries and agricultural soil are all serious Public Health issues to which aquaponics provides direct solutions. Aquaponics also integrates my interests in environmental education and community organizing. Urban areas are promising for the future of aquaponics because cities offer the opportunity to utilize otherwise abandoned buildings, rooftops, or small lots to produce healthy food and work to reconnect people with the source of their food. Already there is a surge of interest in urban gardening and local food education. Many people in the city lack access to fresh vegetables—often it is far cheaper and more convenient to buy processed snacks, fast food and soda. There is tremendous opportunity in cities to reconnect people with the source of their food and make our urban landscapes more integrative with the eatable environment. “The Plant” in Chicago is just one example—a large abandoned warehouse in Chicago is completely filled on all three levels with aquaponic systems. I think that promotion and education of these ideas is important and necessary if we want courses such as horticulture and ecological design to be courses taken seriously and implemented at all levels, beginning with elementary schools.