A Gastonia Girl Scout troop recently visited Webb Street School to learn about aquaponics, now that partnership could be growing into a new badge. On Nov. 23, Gastonia troop 10057, led by Jessica Randall, Barbara Boudreaux, Courtney Phillips and Becca Hurd, made a trip to Webb Street School to see its aquaponic garden and learn about controlled environment agriculture.
Leading the charge on this educational field trip, volunteers from 100 Gardens, an organization dedicated to, "empower(ing) communities to become smarter, healthier, and more compassionate through aquaponics," explained how the garden works and assisted each girl as they made their own miniature aquaponic system.
According to Kelli Howe, former Webb Street School principal and current 100 Gardens education director, aquaponics is a sustainable farming practice in which plants are grown in water with fish or other organisms and a specific bacterial environment.
Farmers feed the fish, who then create waste and the good bacteria converts the waste into nutrients for the plants. Webb Street School largely grows leafy green vegetables for Webb Custom Kitchen in its aquaponic garden using tilapia fish as the living organism component.
Read more at Gaston Gazette
