Overview: “Aquaponic Farming” is an intensive, hands-on course that will train students how to grow food aquaponically using a combination of lecture and activities in an operating, commercial-scale aquaponic system.  Aquaponics is a unique, synergistic growing technique in which fish and plants are grown together. The fish waste feeds the plants using organic hydroponic techniques. The plants, in turn, clean and filter the water that returns to the fish environment.  Aquaponic farming needs less than 10% of the water used by traditional soil based growing methods and can sustainably produce food , closer to the consumer, with lower natural resource consumption, and without petro-chemicals.

Aquaponics takes the good from both aquaculture and hydroponics, and corrects the negatives. Because of the many benefits of aquaponics, it is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to soil gardening, hydroponics and traditional farming. Aquaponics food production means significantly less energy is used and less waste created when compared to fertilizer manufacturing and the use of heavy farm equipment dependent upon oil and gas. Future sustainable food production methods are going to be essential to providing food for an ever increasing world population with fewer natural resources, water, soil and land. Aquaponics systems offer extensive growing capabilities since they can incorporate various intensive and vertical growing methods in a relatively small footprint, close to the consumer.

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