The agriculture classroom at Southeast Polk High School provides an exemplary learning environment for students to grow and produce fish for the High School cafeteria.  The system is an 1100 gallon aquaponic grow system that was modeled after vertical aquaponic operations designed for commercial production and larger supply – but on a somewhat smaller scale. This project allows students to gain industry style skills that will be applicable to the real world.

Matthew Eddy, Southeast Polk High School Agriculture Instructor shared “We are in the process of producing Barramundi fish in a recirculating aquaculture system along with greens production for consumption with a sustainable and environmentally friendly footprint.”

As aquatic resources are unable to provide expansive protein options for our growing world population — Aquaculture / Aquaponics has real potential to provide for our food needs. This project will allow students to put to practice their learning in real and practical application environments with producing an end product for a real market.  The STEM applications are endless as this environment engages Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and connects it to real-world application.

“We also will engage others as the project matures to encourage an understanding of agriculture and how we can put food on our table in sustainable and innovative ways, Eddy shared.”

Over the next few years, Eddy plans to build on the current project with Barramundi fish and partnership with VeroBlue by expanding to provide protein for the students at Southeast Polk.  Join us for an open house on December 1st to learn more! 

SEP Farm to Fork Open House

Why PentairAES equipment?
The global aquaculture industry is booming. Pentair is keeping pace with end-to-end solutions for filtration, circulation, treatment, and operation.

SUSTAINABLE FARMING
With global resources strained like never before, aquaculture is the new frontier. Aquaponics blends aquaculture and hydroponics to create a sustainable solution for private or industrial farming. Pentair’s aquaponics equipment makes ecologically conscious urban fish culture management more cost-efficient.

ECONOMICS OF URBAN FARMING
At Pentair, we are helping move the farm closer to the market. By finding more efficient uses of urban land and resources, aquaculture farms can reduce the impacts of transportation while still delivering fresh foods where they’re needed. We offer complete recirculating aquaculture systems for education, business, and research.

WATER MANAGEMENT
Pentair’s aquaculture equipment promotes sustainability with products that efficiently manage and reuse water without compromising productivity.