Aquaponics

Iris Kuo
May 5, 2010
Filed under Lower School, Top Stories

In Lower School, Mrs. Laurie White and Mrs. Joann Stepien are heading an aquaponics experiment. Aquaponics is the symbiotic cultivation of plants and aquatic animals in a recirculating environment (Portable Farms Aquaponics Systems).
In the general setup of the systems, the tubs with fish are on the bottom, the tubs with vegetables and cinders are on top, and tubes carrying water run between the tubs. There are two separate systems: one with ornamental tilapia and red cinders, and the other has edible tilapia and black cinders. While the systems produce vegetables like red leaf lettuce and arugula, the main goal in executing the experiment is to educate the students.
Upper School students from the two Chemistry Honors classes journeyed down to Lower School in groups of three to four to teach the third graders about the Nitrogen Cycle. The students showed the third graders how the Nitrogen Cycle is at work in the aquaponics. The waste from the fish is brought through the water in the tubes to the tubs of vegetables. Various bacteria modify the fish’s waste so that the plants can use it, and the cinders purify the water before it is sent back down into the fish tub.
Other groups of students from the Chemistry Honors classes tested the pH of the water in the system while the third graders watched. These groups taught the students that for the system to work, the pH has to fall within a certain range. The systems also serve as an experiment for the students to note which system is producing vegetables better. They are located in the courtyard outside Mrs. White’s classroom where her students can easily observe them.