Community Create Night: Aquaponics

Tuesday, December 1, 2015
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Eden Hall Campus

Cost: Adults: $10; Students with ID: $5

Design your own low-cost system to grow fish and plants together.
During this first session, learn the basic biology, chemistry and engineering behind aquaponics systems. Experiment with “media bed” systems by testing different grow media, sizing your pump and testing different system materials. Community expert Mark Berger of Pittsburgh Aquaponics will discuss his interest in aquaponics as a way to grow more food for Pittsburgh. A tour of Eden Hall’s Aquaculture lab is also included in this session. Although content is different from this session to the next on the 15th, attendance at both is not required. Coming to both gives you more time to work on your system and gives you more access to the experts!

Come to Chatham’s Eden Hall Campus for a night of creativity with your community. Experts from Chatham and from the community teach you both the technical aspects and the social context behind topical sustainability projects around food, ecology and energy. Then, we provide materials for you to be creative and experiment with your new knowledge. This event is intergenerational, and open for all ages. Materials will not be sent home with participants unless otherwise noted.

Meet your instructors!
Smiley face Mark Berger is the Founder of Pittsburgh Aquaponics, a social venture dedicated to providing information and products to help people grow food using Aquaponic methods in the Pittsburgh region. Pittsburgh Aquaponics operates a demonstration facility in the south side and regularly provides tours and open houses for the general public to learn more about Aquaponics. Mark received commercial Aquaponics farm training in 2012 in Denver with Sylvia Bernstein and JD Sawyer. He also has received a B.A. in American Studies from Pomona College and an M.F.A. in Cinema/Television production from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Weitzell is the Aquatic Laboratory Director in the Falk School of Sustainability, where he coordinates operation of the School’s recirculating aquaculture systems, culturing fish and other aquatic organisms in support of teaching and research within Chatham’s Sustainability and Food Studies programs. Weitzell joins Chatham from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he helped run the Healthy Watersheds Program, working with state and tribal stakeholders to identify and protect networks of healthy watersheds and green infrastructure across the United States. His current research focuses on physical alterations to headwater streams during watershed urbanization, and the associated impacts to aquatic biodiversity at multiple scales. Dr. Weitzell earned his Ph.D. from The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.

Recommended for ages 12+

Registration

Fee : Adults: $10; Students with ID: $5

Registration has closed. Please contact Kelly Henderson at khenderson@chatham.edu for additional information.

Location

Eden Hall Campus


Contact Information

Kelly Henderson
412-365-9918
khenderson@chatham.edu