Local Teacher Brings Sustainable Agriculture to the Classroom Thanks to two mini-grants provided by the Riverwood International Charter School PTSA, AP Environment and Earth Systems teacher Patti Lawrimore is able to continue her quest to explore and examine means to bring sustainable agriculture to the urban environment. Lawrimores quest began during the 2015-2016 school year with the purchase of a 55-gallon tank for her classroom, funded by a PTSA mini-grant. Her students grew trout in the tank and released the live fish into the Chattahoochee River. This year, the students converted the tank to an aquaponic system a system that grow plants organically using fish waste to feed young plants, while the roots of the plants feed the fish. This completely organic system produces food without soil and uses 80% less water than traditional systems. The 2016-2017 mini-grant funded the addition of a hydroponic tank to the classroom, an inorganic system where synthetic fertilizers are added to the water to feed the plants. This system cycles water across the plant roots, but fertilizer provides the food for the plants. There is still low impact on the soil, and the water use is the same as with the aquaponic system.
to your business!