Junior League Sponsors Aquaponics Project
According to Kate Lowry, a member of the Junior League of Lancaster, the organization has been looking for more ways to make a positive impact on the local community. "We did a community impact assessment about five years ago," explained Lowry. "We looked at challenges and issues, and we did an assessment of what the community needs and where the gaps are."
One result of that assessment is the Junior League of Lancaster's Aquaponics Project. For the educational program, the group has entered into in partnership with J. E. Fritz Elementary School, The Stone Independent School, and the Lancaster Science Factory. Aquaponics utilizes an aquarium tank with types of vegetable and herb plants suspended over the water. Fish in the aquarium produce waste, which feeds the plants growing hydroponically above.
According to Nicole Keifer, the systems offer several benefits that appealed to league members. "We saw these systems, and (we) thought they were a hands-on and exciting way to get an aquaponics system into a classroom," said Keifer, who noted that the units are compact and cost-effective. "(Students) can learn about ecosystems, and they can learn about the fish life cycle and symbiotic relationships," she noted, adding that nutrition and alternative methods of farming can also be discussed. "You can get into so many conversations and thought processes (with students) based on this one little system," she said.
Impressed with the aquaponics systems the league had seen, league member Pam Lazos contacted Mike Simpson, director of The Stone Independent School, in the summer of 2018. Simpson was interested, and he put Lazos in contact with Darby Schock, who teaches math and science at Stone. League members worked with Fritz and the Science Factory on a similar time table.
In January 2019, the aquaponics tanks arrived. At Stone, freshman and sophomore students assembled the tanks and prepared the clay media and peat plugs before adding arugula, rainbow Swiss chard, and dill. Kristen, a student at The Stone Independent School, said that the class members working on the project feed the fish, test the water, and check on the plants. Water is tested for pH range, temperature, and contamination.
Schock noted that the project lends itself to a variety of lessons. "We can teach photosynthesis, the nitrogen cycle in the water, aquaculture, raising fish, (and) the environment the fish like," he said. "There are chemistry elements to (testing the water)."
At the Lancaster Science Factory, director Emily Landis noted that the tank was set up to cycle for about six weeks before seven active fish were added. "The most important thing about setting up is establishing the right balance," said Landis. Lazos noted that the cycling creates a colony of beneficial bacteria. "The fish waste creates ammonia that is pumped up to the top and converted into nutrients the plant can intake. Nitrites are converted to nitrate to feed the plants." At the top, rosemary, parsley, and tiny tomato plants are growing.
Landis said that the 50,000 to 60,000 yearly Science Factory visitors will have the opportunity to read signage that explains the cycle and all the chemistry behind it. "Our STEM educator, Angel Kilyan, is a chemist, so she would like to integrate the aquaponics in the ecology and chemistry programming," said Landis.
The Junior League of Lancaster is working toward putting an aquaponics tank in each Lancaster County school. Readers who would like to learn more about how the program could become part of their neighborhood school may contact the league at girlsinstem@jllancaster.org.
The Junior League of Lancaster is an organization of women who promote voluntarism, develop the potential of women, and work to improve the community through effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. The group has been active in the area for nearly 100 years.
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