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Hello from the new owners of The Aquaponic Source

posted Oct 13, 2015, 1:24 PM by JD Sawyer   [ updated Oct 13, 2015, 2:50 PM ]
We are proud to announce that we purchased The Aquaponic Source on Oct 9th 2015. We have some really big shoes to fill, as Sylvia and Alan Bernstein begin a new chapter in their lives. It has been a remarkable achievement on their part to not just build a successful company from scratch but to help create and shape a whole new industry. We are honored to be continuing the aquaponics community and online store as a cornerstone for aquaponic enthusiasts all over the world. We have watched this community grow from a few fledgling followers (being some of the first members to sign up) to thousands of people making a difference in home, school and community food production.

We started our business, Colorado Aquaponics, literally the same day as Sylvia began The Aquaponic Source in 2009. Our paths have crossed many times over the years being in the same state with the same passion to grow food, grow community and grow an industry. We have always chosen to be collaborators instead of competitors, figuring that we can get a lot more accomplished when each person (and business) gets to focus on their strengths.

So while The Aquaponic Source was building their online community of people sharing stories, images and helping each other grow, JD and I have spent the last six years working with the GrowHaus community, a Northeast Denver food desert neighborhood. Here we have built and maintained a dozen demonstration aquaponic systems, and in the fall of 2012 we moved Flourish Farm our 3,000 sq ft aquaponic farm from Arvada to the GrowHaus. Since then we have raised thousands of tilapia, hybrid striped bass, catfish, koi and bluegill. We have grown over 100,000 vegetables, trialing hundreds of different varieties, and selling over 30,000 pounds of food within a 5 mile radius of our farm. Most importantly, we have continued to donate 10% of our crop to the GrowHaus for distribution to our local community. Our six year old twins and nine year old daughter have spent many days “helping” at the GrowHaus, and think of it as a second home (although they still think a farm should have a red barn and horses or cows).

Our mission, just like Sylvia and Alan’s, is to empower people to succeed at growing their own food. We will continue to pursue this goal everyday through farming, research and development and education. In purchasing The Aquaponic Source, we now have a wide range of products and services for home, hobby, school, and community aquaponics projects. We are driven to prove that aquaponics can be environmentally, socially and financially sustainable. Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to helping you achieve your aquaponic goals.

Tawnya and JD Sawyer
Colorado Aquaponics
Flourish Farms and now
The Aquaponic Source
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