S1 Aquaponics Project 2023

Aquaponics is a combination of Hydroponics and aquaculture. Hydroponics uses water, by adding nutrients to the water for the plants to use, it is also done without soil. Aquaculture is the raising of fish or other aquatic animals for food to grow plants, just like fish.

We are going to do our aquaponics on the roof of the S1 building. we will be using IBC tanks donated by Remy: D. We are using IBC tanks as they will be movable in the future. These tanks, and the system, are modular so we can expand the system as we need to very easily.

Students discussing the plan

For our system we will make it half a raft system and the other half will be Leca substrate for plants to root. The Leca will also provide a lot of surface area for beneficial bacteria to colonize to clean the water. The solid waste from the fish will be broken down by the beneficial bacteria and add nutrients to the water for the plants to use.

Teamwork to solve a stuck screw problem.

The whole class will help us to build the aquaponics setup. The Earth Science class students will check all the equipment and hardware, such as pumps, pipes, and connections and do any maintenance work needed. The Life Science class will collect data and analyze it as part of our ongoing research project. All students in S1 will help to harvest crops when they are ready.

Getting ready and taking the tanks apart for cutting.

We are doing this project for three main reasons. The first reason is to have a permanent science research project. This will help the Life Science students to understand how a system works. It will also allow students to practice vital scientific skills such as data collection, record keeping, and analysis of data to make informed decisions.

Removing the tanks for cutting

The second reason for this project is for the S1 class to practice and hone entrepreneurial skills. We will look at ways to market and sell the crops to be able to make useful upgrades to the system in the future. The final reason for doing this project is for students to learn hands-on skills and not just learn information from the books.

This will also teach the whole class the importance of teamwork, because everyone has a specific job to do.

Learning to use power tools and cutting the tanks to the correct size we need