Destiney Burt/Contributing Writer
Dual enrollment professor James Jiler swiftly digged a hole in the backyard grounds of Miami Northwestern Senior High on Monday afternoon, planting fruits in preparation for the unveiling of the school’s aquaponics unit.
Aquaponics is the study of aquaculture, which is the process of growing fish and using its waste to fertilize plants.
Miami Northwestern Senior High is the first school in Miami-Dade County to have an aquaponics lab. Oct. 17 was the ribbon cutting ceremony for the formal unveiling of the aquaponics lab.
According to Maria Lovett, assistant Professor in the college of education, the lab allows students to get involved with hands-on experience and learning in many areas including science, business and culinary arts. Through the aquaponics lab, “students are also able to gain entrepreneurial and leadership skills.”
The University, JP Morgan Chase and Miami-Dade County Public schools support the aquaponics lab. The school received a three-year, $1-million-dollar grant from the JP Morgan Chase Foundation. With that grant, the partners have collaborated to establish The Education Effect, which is a partnership to support education in Liberty City.
“Plan it Forward” is an extension of The Education Effect that will build on the aquaponics program and introduce students to careers in the hospitality industry, as well as help develop entrepreneurial skills.
This educational partnership is a great way for FIU’s hospitality, earth and environment and business students get involved with reaching out to the community by engaging with Miami Northwestern students.
“Even if college is not for you, it’s that every single child should have the option,” Lovett said. “This program allows students to have that decision and if they don’t go to college, it’s because they want to pursue something else.”
This program offers students an opportunity to earn both high school and college credits through dual enrollment with University. Professors teach the courses free of charge to the students.
The aquaponics lab also growing edible food plant such as lettuce, papaya, moringa and more.
“They don’t want just an ordinary school garden, where people play in the dirt, plant a few vegetables and then they die,” Jiler said.
They are developing something more “that is long lasting, like a food forest,” said Jiler. According to Jiler, it will be a garden that will not only have an impact on the school but an impact on the community as well.
Once the garden takes off and the plants have fully grown, the class will be using them in the classrooms for the students to cook in culinary arts.
The program not only offers classes to their students to be involved with the aquaponics unit, but also an after school program called Agroecology, which students can get involved anytime during the school year.
Hospitality and Management students assist in teaching Miami Northwestern students in the agroecology program how to cook, and explain the science of the food they are growing.
This improves students learning and college readiness. According to Lovett, the program has cause an improvement in graduation rate increasing from 64 to 80 percent.
“Aquaponics is a great class, I’ve learned new things,” said Jeffery Green, a senior at Miami Northwestern, who said the program has also had an impact on his degree decision.
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Learning about sustainable aquaculture at a young age is a great way to show children how to grown their own food and may provide them with a viable career path for the future. To learn more about sustainable aquaculture please visit us at http://www.recirculatingfarms.org.