The Special Projects Lab is working on an aquaponics system. This system grows plants using the waste produced by fish.

They are growing basil, tomato, different types of peppers, boc choy and poppy flowers in advisor Robert Richard’s room. Their hope is to educate people on alternative ways to raise plants.
The aquaponics system is beneficial to plants because the fertilizer is more direct which gives them a consistent and endless supply of the nutrients they need.
Their goal is to present their project to the American Geophysical Union next year in San Francisco. The AGU is a place where people can go to present their findings and learn about other people’s projects and their results.
“The project idea came from a group of students who were maintaining the aquariums and looking to take it to the next step to combine plant growth with maintaining the aquariums,” Richards said. “We have also applied for another grant to do Salmon in the classroom.”