Aquaculture and Aquaponics Class
The Aquaculture and Aquaponics Class at Jonesport Beals High School is part of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. The CTE program provides Maine students with not only an opportunity for relevant and challenging applied learning to enhance their occupational, personal, and academic success but also helps to prepare them to meet the needs of the Maine workforce.
In order to enhance and support the efforts of the students in the program, the school knew that having a greenhouse would be one of the most important items they could purchase to improve the facility for the program. They became aware of a State of Maine Equipment grant for CTE schools, applied to purchase a greenhouse and received the funding.
The school selected a 12 x 24 greenhouse from Maine Garden Products, a Maine based business that specializes in constructing greenhouses in 2021. As a result, the program has recently been able to transition from solely using a traditional classroom and science lab to having their own greenhouse with a 400-gallon recirculating aquaculture system and a 200-gallon continuous flow aquaponics system.
Currently heating the greenhouse to a balmy 55 degrees (when needed), the class is using tilapia for their fish species and lettuce, chives, basil, various house plants, kale and swiss chard for their plants. In the first couple of months of having the new greenhouse space, they have given away or sold 6 pounds of produce (mostly in the form of lettuce) from both their indoor NFT hydroponics system (located in the science lab) and the new greenhouse.
In addition, the class also benefits from collaboration opportunities with two very unique places in their local community: Kingfish Maine and the Downeast Institute.
- Kingfish Maine is a proprietary land-based aquaculture facility that believes sustainability and respect to the fish and environment are at the core of their values, and inform their design, operations, and technology decisions.
- Downeast Institute, a Marine Research Laboratory And Education Center, features a large shellfish research and production hatchery. Their goal is that future lobstermen, clammers, aquaculturists, and others who will make their livelihood from the ocean possess an understanding of the ecology of the marine environment and the tools to think critically about challenges they may encounter.
Students in the class have the opportunity to work directly with these organizations. These opportunities may not only lead to job opportunities but also provide a chance for them to see first hand the different perspectives and opportunities they could have in their futures if they decide to pursue marine research and aquaculture themselves.
According to the current Aquaculture and Aquaponics teacher, Robin LaRochelle, the current program is designed for 11th and 12th grade CTE students who take classes in Aquaculture and Aquaponics. The current principal and a former teacher got the ball rolling and now the current students are benefiting from their vision.
With a dream to produce enough to sell and support the program as well as donate to local families in need and food pantries, current cold temperatures and lack of sunlight during the winter make it a slow-growing process but the class and administration are dedicated to making the program work. First up, growing more vegetable varieties this spring.
For more information, contact Robin LaRochelle at robin.larochelle@union103.org.
