Dear Friend,Living Mandala has a very cool class coming up. It's one of a very few Commercial Aquaponics Courses available in this country. Aquaponics combines Aquaculture with Hydroponics thus solving the problem of WASTE prevalent in both systems. Plants & fish thrive together in a balanced, self-contained eco system that works!
Aquaponics Facts
- AQUAPONICS USES 98% LESS WATER THAN CONVENTIONAL FARMING DOES!
- AQUAPONICS IS ENERGY-EFFICIENT: IT REQUIRES ONE-THIRD OF THE ENERGY OTHER FARMING SYSTEMS USE!
- AQUAPONICS HAS EIGHT TO TEN TIMES MORE VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN THE SAME AREA AND TIME!
- LABOR IS REDUCED AS MUCH AS 40% AND MANY USEFUL BYPRODUCTS ARE CREATED THAT CAN BE USED TO FARM OTHER CROPS, TREES, SOIL, WATER AND ENERGY!
- A PERMACULTURE INSPIRED SYSTEM PRODUCES ALL OF THE SYSTEM’S NEEDS (WATER, ENERGY, FISH FEED, HEAT, ETC.) ON SITE!
- PRODUCTS OF THE SYSTEM INCLUDE; SOLAR ELECTRICITY, HEAT, FISH, PRAWNS, VEGETABLES, AQUATIC PLANTS, ALGAE, SNAILS, WORMS, FERTILIZER, EVEN METHANE GAS!
COMMERCIAL AQUAPONICS TRAINING WITH APPLIED PERMACULTURE :: The Green Career of the FutureWhen? August 25-28, 2010Where? Ukiah, CaliforniaTopics Include:PERMACULTURE & ECOVILLAGE CURRICULUM, WHOLE SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY, INTEGRATIVE ECO-SOCIAL DESIGN, SOCIAL PERMACULTURE, COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE, INNER ECOLOGY, GROUP PROCESS, HANDS-ON ACTION LEARNING & MUCH MOREWhy Aquaponics?Growing our food in closed systems that require no soil allows us to farm soil and water outside the system! We plant soil and water in our damaged and depleted landscapes which not only aids in the restoration of the soil, groundwater and native forests, but has the added benefit of offsetting greenhouse gases by removing carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere. This is one of the practices used in what we call “Carbon Farming”. Soils contain approximately 75% of the carbon pool on land — three times more than the amount stored in living plants and animals. Did you know that 1” of healthy top soil spread over 1 acre of land sequesters the same amount of carbon a healthy forest of the same size does annually? It is estimated that our crop and range lands lose 4 tons of topsoil every year for every person alive! That’s 21 gigatons of soil washed or blown out to the sea and lost for productive use on land, releasing vast amounts of carbon in the process (New Scientist, December 2006). Being able to use land considered “Undesirable” by conventional farming, Aquaponic farmers have the added benefit of access to cheap lands and lease agreements. Often using otherwise unused space such as fill, gravel, concrete, abandoned commercial sites, even roof tops. “The only limit to our designs is in the mind of the designer”!
Facilitators & Instructors:Max Meyers, Hannah Apricot Eckberg, Chris ByrneThank you for helping to strengthen the network of conscious people and to further empower regenerative educational initiatives on the planet.Have a great day!