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Spinponics – Green Thumb for Lynn
Technically, it’s Aquaponics, but since the Director of the SPIN (Serving People In Need) Family Financial Stability Center at 270 Union St in Lynn has generously donated a large well-lit area to become the home for this endeavor we thought it appropriate to give it that SPIN.
So what is Aquaponics? It is a new technology-a combination of two older ideas- aquaculture, or the husbandry of edible fish, and Hydroponics, which is the growth of edible foods without soil, pesticides, fertilizer or antibiotics.
Aquaponics combines the two in a symbiotic relationship that uses the waste product produced by the fish, Ammonia, to fertilize the roots of plants grown in pea stone consistently flushed with the waste water. The water is filtered and purified for the fish through a natural process known as the Nitrogen Cycle. This eliminates any need for unnatural additives and maintains a healthy environment.
The result is a rich nutrient base for the plants which thrive under these conditions. Because it is an indoor, controlled setting, the yields of plants can be as much as 6 times the output of soil-based methods. The constant change of water and nutrients creates a strong healthy environment. This allows growth to table readiness in as little as three and a half weeks for some vegetables and Tilapia fish can be raised from egg to table in ten months.
These results allow for a solid, dependable return for workers and consumers. No waste products form that are not used in the process, and the system can even be used to grow edible food on a brownfield. In the future, we hope to establish a local garden here in Lynn employing workers trained in this technology to produce a steady stream of wholesome food for Lynn residents, helping to impact poverty issues as well as environmental issues.
Local food is fresher and is healthier for you and healthier for the environment since transportation costs and pollutants are minimized. It is further hoped to form a cooperative enterprise with workers sharing, developing and maintaining a new center of wealth from urban farming here. Another positive aspect of this endeavor will be advancing the educational value of what is learned here through the public school system in Lynn.
This project came about as a joint effort between SPIN and the Lynn Coalition for Green Development (LCGD). The North Shore Labor Council is a leader within the LCGD and has played a prominent role in this coalition; acting as convener and helping to create this effort. The idea came from a Pathways Out of Poverty grant application the LCGD submitted last year to the federal government. NSLC and MIT CoLab have been working closely together to bring environmental change in attitude and effect to the City of Lynn. This project is the first of many planned developments we hope to affect though this partnership.
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