Urban Agriculture Sustainability Education at the Potomac Middle School Mr. Rosiak Mr. Donovan Mr. Barnes Science Day 2015 Potomac Middle School April 24, 2015 Mrs. Alfie Turner, Principal Mr. Brian Coleman, Assistant Principal Mrs. Latanya Haskins-Ladson, Administrative Intern Dr. Steve Walts, Superintendent
About the Presenters and Potomac Middle School
Sustainability Education at the Middle School Level What is it, why is it important, and what are we doing at Potomac Middle School?
What is Sustainability? The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines sustainability as creating and maintaining the conditions under which nature can exist in productive harmony, which permits the fulfilment of social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations.
Why does it matter? Humans continue to utilize natural resources at an alarming rate Significant concerns about the unintended social, environmental, and economic consequences of rapid development Sustainable communities manage to eliminate these concerns by thinking about how to reduce their environmental footprint and become self sufficient Urban farming is at a sharp decline and our food output may not match need within our lifetime
Why is the Urban Agriculture Program at PTMS Important? Why bother with an Aquaponics system?
USDA Defined Food Deserts Income Requirement Poverty rate at above 20% OR A median income at or below 80% of area median Access Requirement In suburban areas, a community is defined as low-access if 33% of population lives more than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store
Food Desert Meets Income But not Access Meets Access But not Income United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas Search for “22026” (school zip code) LI&LA Layers: L1&LA at 1 and 10 miles L1&LA at ½ and 10 miles Component Layers: LA at 1 and 10 miles Modified to show approximate location of Potomac Middle School
Restaurants within ½ Mile of PTMS
Restaurants within 2 Miles of PTMS
2015 Mega Drought NASA Drought Study NASA Drought Study
United Nations FAO A revolution in agriculture is vital to meet world food targets. Food production levels must double in order to feed the world population by Water conservation helps in reducing chance of future wars
War over Water Countries will begin to fight over water, not oil Water is vital to survival and will be worth fighting for Potential hot-spots could include United States and Mexico Senegal and Mali Bangladesh and India Israel and Jordan Egypt and Sudan India and Pakistan
Why Aquaponics? Easily scalable Productive year-round Up to 10 times faster growth than traditional soil garden Conserves water and other resources No pesticides or herbicides required Economical
Aquaponics
Traditional Gardening vs. Aquaponics Traditional Soil Garden Daily watering Use of fossil fuel powered machinery Uncontrolled environment Bugs, deer, squirrels, etc. Labor intensive Compost, fertilizer, or other nutrient rich medium needed Takes up to twice as long to grow Aquaponics 90% less water than soil Can be designed to run on renewable resources Controlled environment means no pests No weeding or heavy labor after initial build Fish fertilize plants Can grow in half the time
Price Comparison on the EWG “Dirty Dozen Plus” ProduceConventional PriceOrganic PriceNotes Apples (gala) lb bag Strawberries Per pound Grapes (red seedless) Per pound Celery Each Peaches (yellow) Per pound Spinach (baby) Per pound Bell Peppers (green) Each Nectarines (yellow) Per pound Cucumbers Each Cherry Tomatoes Per pint Potatoes lb bag Kale Per bunch Collard Greens Per bunch Data from USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Report, National Fruit and Vegetable Retail Report for 9/14/14. Items listed in BOLD should be able to grow in an Aquaponics system.
PTMS Aquaponics Systems
Desktop Aquaponics Each attendee will leave today with their own desktop aquaponics system.
20 Gallon Stand System “Showpiece” for Potomac Middle School
300 Gallon System