Aquaponics Are we on a mission

So many of us start in Aquaponics as a way of feeding ourselves or saving a little money or better feeding our family. However some people, some who started out for one reason became aware that through A/P they could possibly help this planet and they became driven to use Aquaponics as a tool to help others.

So I started to go through my notes to see who, what, where and how. Heres what I found and I hope you enjoy.

“Living Food BankTM” to Provide Fresh Fish and Vegetables in Haiti

Luke’s Mission has extensive experience  using aquaponics, both in the US and in Haiti.

Vancouver Island Universitys ongoing efforts in the direction of sustainability are evident inside a preferred aquaponics mission happening

During a recent trip to New York City, Felipe from GlobalGiving stopped by Brooklyn Rescue Mission for a quick visit. Here is his postcard from the field

I  am writing to tell you about an exciting new opportunity for Brooklyn
Rescue Mission! We have been selected by the GlobalGiving Foundation to
participate in its Urban Farming Open Challenge

Our Mission Statement...
Provide support for those people who are most in need,
following Jesuss example.
AND
Attain sustainability and teach others to do the same.

Organization dedicated to promote Aquaponics in Europa. French, English, Nederlands

Olomana Gardens is a permaculture farm dedicated to serving the local  community as a demonstration farm for modern, sustainable food growing systems suitable for small-scale farms and even food production for residential lots.

The aim was to develop a system that could be widely replicated in economically blighted regions, used as a cost-effective vehicle to teach the public the importance of growing the right fruits and vegetables to ensure a healthy diet

Our intention is to empower people through the education of food production, nutrition, and cultural integration. The demographic that we would like to impact first would be the communities residing in regions on our Earth that are suffering from famine, disease, and malnutrition

The training is being conducted by Challenger and 16 ANC members are completing a Certificate II in Aquaculture.  It is planned that ANC members, once they have finished their training, will become mentors for other aboriginal communities to start their own aquaponics systems

Kijiji grows (kee-gee-gee) is a collaboration of farmers, artists, engineers, builders and educators who advocate for aquaponic gardening. Our mission is to bring aquaponics to the San Francisco Bay Area and change lives through urban sustainable growing systems in schools, homes and businesses

I really enjoyed the conference. It helped me see that my wife and I could contribute to serving the poor in ways that we didnt imagine. Theres enough information given to get started in Aquaponics. One day I hope to develop similar projects in Kenya and Nigeria.

An Australian sustainability collective has come up with a novel approach to bringing ecological organic food production into our cities. Their design is fast, efficient, cheap, demountable, and scalable. Welcome to the urban farming revolution proposed by CERES.

Build an aquaponics system to educate Central Brooklyn residents on the benefits of urban farming, healthy eating and improving healthy food access for residents in the communities where they live

Right, I think youll get the idea. There are a lot of people out and about who are striving to help my/your planet. Makes me feel pretty darn good inside.

So on that Note Ill bid you a fond fairwell....(O.K. So Im going all Mushy. So What)
Bye till Wednesday
O Z Z I E

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Abadndoed kitten We shall call her Angel ｡＾･ｪ･＾｡

Well, how could anyone leave this poor little thing!?!

While outside cleaning up around the coop I heard a cry from the barn, when I went to investigate I found this little one screaming at the top of her lungs. "oh lord" I told my self, as this was the second kitten this year weve found abandoned; thankfully this time we knew what to do. I decided to give it till nightfall and see if momma comes back for her little one; no such luck. I decided "ok!, its time for you to come inside", as the raccoons would be out looking for dinner soon. Thankfully, this little puffball looked to be a few weeks older then the last cat we took in. This one was able to walk pretty well and  its eyes had matured slightly so it wasnt as blindish as the babies tend to be.
We had a can of formula leftover from the previous kitten and as soon as that was placed in front of her she dove in like it was swimming practice. She still puts both feet in her food every time we feed her, then runs off spreading little milked up paw prints all over the house.

Oh momma cat, how could you give this little munchkin up?

We figure well keep her inside till the spring and hopefully shell be able to readjust to life with the other barn cats.

Im not much of a cat person, but this little thing is starting to grow on me.

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Chaga hunting Hoof fungus Maple syrup harvesting marsh walk photos

Birch trees

I decided to head on out into the bush and see if I could find the magic elixir known as chaga.
At first all the birch I checked was void of this magic fungi and I was wondering if, for some reason, this area just didnt have the spores. I found that somewhat hard to believe, so I kept on my search  and eventually came across a tree that had fallen over and saw what I was looking for.

Hoof fungus

Since it was a rotting tree and upon inspection, the chaga did not look good enough to make anything I wanted to drink. Once I cracked it open I could see little larvae entranced in their winter sleep. I decided this was not the pickings I was going to take back and make into tea. At least this gave me the perseverance to keep on my hunt, knowing now, there must be more of it out there, as, fungi spread quite easily. After trudging deeper into the backwoods I eventually came across another tree with Chaga on it.

Hoof fungi 

The one thing I noticed which I found strange, all the Chaga I found was only on the north side of the property, all the trees on the south end were devoid of this mushroom. I searched high and low on the one side and nothing, but as soon as I went over to the other end of the property, there it was. Many of the pieces I could not reach, as, they were 15 ft up the tree; I saw one piece that must have been 5 or 10 pounds bulging out of the tree. I will come back for these with a ladder. For some dumb reason I realized when I got back to the house, that, all the pictures I took were of the hoof fungus, not one of the Chaga, WHAT WAS I THINKING!
I will go back and take pictures of the big mound of Chaga once all the snow clears.

Hoof fungus

The hoof fungus tends to look like these little hoofs on the side of the tree, they can also look more blackish.

Hoof fungus on birch tree

Chaga and hoof fungas harvest in Ontario

This was the days harvest, not all will go for tea, and I made sure to leave the trees with what I believed to be a sufficient amount of Chaga spores so as to be able to reproduce. The parts I do not use will go to the stove, as, from what I understand, Chaga shavings and hoof fungus is a great fire starter. 

Chaga preparation

The process is really quite simple, scrape off the hardened black exterior until you reach the soft orange-ish inner core. Then, take out your grater and grate away. You will want to leave it out to dry, preferably in the sun for a few days, so as not to let it mold. 

Preparing Chaga

Since were in full swing of spring, the sap is flowing. The temperature had dropped the previous few weeks/days and I had neglected checking the buckets for sap, but now that weve had this turnaround into good spring weather, things are flowing into prime syrup season. We have already made a batch of syrup a few weeks back, but this was of the sap (that Im told) is more so the anti-freeze of the tree, while it does have sugar, it produces something that just doesnt compare to the next flow of mapley goodness.

 I could tell when I walked up that those buckets were full and I knew, time for some cooking!

Maple sap

Later on it was time to walk the dog, so I brought my camera along to see if I could get some decent shots of the stream and marsh by my place. I decided to take a little macro of everybodys favourite nuisance plant - burdock. I remember the games played with these, it was always fun to whip these threw the air and watch it stick to someones shirt; then, you could see it in their eyes, the game was on!.

Burdock -

The sumac was a plant Ive known since a child, thankfully, we dont have the poison ones around here. I remember being very young in my girlfriends backyard sucking on these sour-ish buds. I dont know why we did it, no one told us it was safe, we just kinda ate them without concern. Ahh.. to be a child. lol.

Sumac

I finally reached the marsh and I was glad I brought my camera.

Springbrook Marsh / river

I love all the old barns in my area, I must make a project of capturing as many as I can at some point. Our personal barn ( and house ) goes back to the 1850s, and from what I understand, some of them might go back even further.

Springbrook heritage barn

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Dear readers

I checked my stats and am upset.

Id like to say hello to the French readers out there. Turns out a good portion of my audience is French!!!  You guys have a beautiful country and language by the way.  No chance that Im being overly nice either!

So here is to the French.  Thanks guys!

Now even more interesting is that most people got here via Google search engine.  Well I guess it isnt a surprise seeing as Blogger itself is a Google tool.  The top two things that bring people here?

"zebra brown white stripes"
"portal cake ingredient list"

hahaha.  Now I had the actual ingredients and how to for an edible version of the portal cake.  In fact, there is a hard way from scratch and an easy way from instant cake stuff (like the box cake mix.)

But what truly gets me going...the fact that over 75% of you are using Internet Explorer.





This disgusts me.





Most of you are also on Windows which is understandable but IE????

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Friday and We are all a Bit Sick of this Weather

So I guess most of us are wondering what is the next weather installment. Well not me, Ive had all the weather I need. So Ill just sit here and get on with work:


It occurred to me a couple of days ago that I had never written anything reviewing my Friendly Aquaponics Commercial Training experience.  It was a profound four days in my life and yet I have never chronicled it.  I think I finally will now.

We arrived in Kona late Saturday night after grounded planes and nearly missed flights.  We were tired but excited as we drove from the airport up to Waimaia where we were staying.  Tomorrow we would go to the farm tour and then the class would start on Monday.  We slept well, but cold in the little Hawaiin hotel room with no heat.  It was dipping into the 40s there at night and we Florida girls were freezing!  The next morning we headed out for breakfast and to go to the farm tour.

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Gardening by the use of an aquaponic system will enable you to cultivate plants along with aquatic life, and starting out at a small scale will allow you to get started without the need for significant amount of expence or maintenance. Understanding the benefits will help you to determine what type of system is best for your needs.

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Food Justice Workshop at GrowHaus
The GrowHaus of Denver and Hazon invite you to a special Food Justice Workshop with Nigel Savage and alumni from Hazon’s food conference on Sunday, February 6th, 1:00-4:00pm.  Come join “Hazoniks” of Colorado and friends for a tour, discussion, and volunteering at the GrowHaus in west Denver. The GrowHaus serves fresh fruits and vegetables that they grow in their cutting-edge aquaponics greenhouse system to a large community in a food desert in the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood.

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Aquaponics in Education, Inspiration, and Community Building
By slywoman
Video of the presentation I gave at the Sweet Water Organics Workshop titled Aquaponics in Education, Inspiration, and Community Building.

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Aquaponics 101-Part One: The Process
This is the first of a series of articles that are going to teach you most of what you would need to know about Aquaponics to build and maintain your own system. These articles are part of a book we are writing and will eventually be selling on our website at www.aquaponicsusa.com

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How to build a basic Aquaponics System
A basic guide on how to build your own Aquaponic system. This is sytem is based on the barrel ponic and S&S setup and was built by me in the summer of 07?.
I have been very pleased with my DAYMAK AUSTIN electric motor bike. This is the fourth season of riding around the city streets and local highways. I have had a few electrical/electronic issues which I repaired quickly...

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[WATCH]: Aquaponics Greenhouse Tour
This is a Harbor Freight 10×12 greenhouse that is used for an aquaponics system. It’s not as big as my regular garden, but I can start it 2 months earlier! Thanks for viewing! For more info, see my blog at web4deb.blogspot.com or http Also “like” us on Facebook by searching for “Bigelow Brook Farm” 


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Barrel Aquaponics Workshop
If you want to get started producing a constant supply of fish, rabbits, chickens, vegetables, herbs, greens and other plants in an efficient, inexpensive small-scale system, plan to attend the Aquaponics training in Starksboro, Vermont.

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Lynn labor leaders look to form workers co-op
LYNN - Two local labor leaders want to start a worker-owned cooperative in Lynn, modeled after a successful one in Spain, as a way to create jobs and wealth for the citys working class.
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The GrowHaus: Building A Community Around Food In Elyria-Swansea
Growhaus
"What I really see here is a hub for community development, a place where we support and inspire the neighborhood," says Adam Brock, of Northeast Denvers GrowHaus.
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Community Calendar
11:30 a.m. Feb. 1, Savannah Morning News Auditorium, 1375 Chatham Parkway. James C. McCurry Jr., director of administration at Georgia Ports Authority, will be speaking on the Port of Savannah and the Savannah Harbor Deepening Project. Cost: $11. For information, call 912-644-6434 or go to
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Diy Aquaponics - Very Easily Make Your Aquaponics System.
If you are seeking any sample Aquaponics Layout you could follow then Im planning to place you in the right direction. There are a lot of different types of aquaponics tanks & gardens, hence you have to consider which you would like to select. The best way to begin this would be to work with a DO IT YOURSELF guideline
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My DIY Aquaponics REVIEW-Organic Gardening Secret
If you are wondering about My DIY Aquaponics REVIEW , Mydiyaquaponics.com reputation, or...
is My DIY Aquaponics SCAM or The Real Deal? Youve come to the right place.
With aquaponics it is simple to grow 10X the quantity of plants within the same space a garden would normally take. This step-by-step guide continues to be engineered to obtain your personal aquaponics system ready to go to help you produce your personal produce with 1/10th the quantity of work. Certified Organic Food that tastes great! ...[more details]
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Movement in the Bottoms: Operation Canned Spinach!
Starting a grassroots urban farm with little means on a small plot of industrial wasteland with soil so toxic you can’t put any seeds in the ground is no small feat. However, for a small African American community in the Village Bottoms district of West Oakland, being able to feed themselves

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 Well, Thats a wrap - For Now
Be Back Soon
A U Z Z I E

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Why people are poor and how we fix it

I have limited this to America simply because every country is different.  People are poor here for two main reasons.

1. hard times
2. stupidity

Stupidity often leads to ignorance.  Ignorance is the worst thing that could happen to anything.  But before I go on, let me tell everyone what sparked this today.

I dont live in the best neighborhood.  This is mostly because of my own stupidity.  I could move.  I could do this and that...but I havent.  Why?  Because of my own patience.  Sometimes things are good to wait for.  This isnt quite one of them.  Since I have realized this bad move, I have worked for a way to get out.  Anyway, I was walking the dogs today with no problem.  My neighbor and I chatted up a bit.  This guy, awesome.  He lives here because he has a family to take care of and it was a cheap house with an extremely large yard.  He has two large pit bulls that arent walked, but played with for hours a day while some of the family tends to the garden in the back.  As I walked further down the street, I came across a dog nearly hopping the fence.  Two things could have happened

1. the dog wouldnt have made it
2. the dog would have had his face smashed in because Im not the kind of person that stands there screaming "oh no stop please!"

The dog didnt make it.  The dog wasnt the problem.  The owner standing in the yard that let her dogs jump all over her and became nervous at the sight of me walking by was the problem.  A weak owner should either man up or not have two large, aggressive breeds.  She probably got them as cute puppies.  Stupidity.  However she didnt fix this stupid move one bit.  Nope, they grew up to own her.  What made me even more mad was the neighbor that commented "almost ol boy!"  I question if she would have said the same thing if the dog did jump the fence and I did, to protect my pack, injured him.  Ignorance.

So why are people poor in America?

Well lets rephrase this.  Why do people stay poor in America?

First, lets look at the definitions of poor (used in our context of course.)

Merriam-Websters definition of poor (of course Oxford you have to pay for and the free dictionary isnt working for me at this time.)

1. lacking material possessions
2. small in worth
3. less than adequate 

No wonder why everyone is money hungry and materialistic.  People dont want to be "less than adequate" but instead happy and...adequate.

Anyone taking Economics may come across this interesting thing called standard of living and another thing called quality of life.  These things, interestingly enough, do not like each other.  When standard of living is high, quality of life is low and vice versa.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN PEOPLE IN THE SLUMS ARE HAPPIER THAN PEOPLE IN MANSIONS???!?!

It isnt just worldwide.  Often "poor" people in the country are happier than people financially happy and with more possessions in urban/suburban areas.  There is much less crime in the country and it has nothing to do with nature or living far apart.

These poor people (living in those purple mountains of the US or those hills of China) have one thing many city folk have forgotten about.  They have communities and family that are willing to be there for them.  Im not dissing city folk (after all, I was raised suburban and have lived suburban my entire life) but we seem to be so into what we dont have.  Many minimalists (the lifestyle, not the fashion/music/anything of those sorts) are catching on as well.  Less is more.  Besides, our real friends and good family dont care what we have or how messy our living room is.

In short, how do I think we should fix poor?  Stop being so damn materialistic.  I can spew on about being eco friendly which, with knowledge on how to not be scammed, comes out being much cheaper but that isnt what this post is about.  In fact, I will probably blog that next.

In this wonderful country we call home, we do need some income.  We dont own anything for fuck sake and when we do own it 100%, there is usually some law keeping an eye on it.

HOW TO STOP BEING POOR pt 1

Do yourself a favor and be eco friendly (more on that in the next blog.)  What you need and what you want are two different things.

HOW TO STOP BEING POOR pt 2

This requires more than just yourself.  Go to a farmers market or a local farm to shop.  Buy from local stores.  Yes this costs more but think of it this way.

Wal Mart opens a new store and it creates 200 local jobs plus temporary jobs for construction workers.

A family shop opens a very large store of the same size and it only buys products from other family owned shops.  It creates 200 local jobs plus more jobs for those shops that it is getting product from.  It encourages more local practices.  This also means less people need to be on welfare or need financial assistance because we opened up more than 200 jobs.  Tada!  Less taxes we have to spew out.

HOW TO STOP BEING POOR pt 3

Knowledge.  Yeah simple.  Dont be stupid or impulsive.  Since dogs and cats are a big pet peeve of mine, I will use them as an example.

We buy a puppy from a pet store which likely came from a puppy mill.  This has helped our local economy but not in a good way.  The greedy owner just wants your money and doesnt care about you.  Same with a free



kitten.  We encourage these people to allow animals to breed thus more die in shelters.  Putting animals down isnt cheap but county and city shelters usually get some sort of government help.  Tada...minus more tax money!  A little research goes a long way.

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