Here’s a blog written by one our interns, Allison Baxter, reflecting on the work being done here at Nourish the Planet:
Every day something new is happening. Progress is made, knowledge is gained, and growth is accomplished. Whether it’s in the greenhouses or in the office, this is how it goes at Nourish the Planet. I see it most in my weekly visit to the greenhouses. I walk from the office down the lane in the increasing cold brought by the forecasted snow. Once inside, the greenhouses are warm and welcoming. I’m here to take pictures, not of people, but of plants. Compared to last week’s pictures I see that red romaine and butter head lettuces are growing fast. By the end of the month the system will produce over fifty pounds of lettuce. Nourished by trout and goldfish that live in the nearby raceway, each plant grows side by side in the large aquaponic system. The plants and the fish are neighbors, unaware of their interdependence on the one another. And that is the beauty of aquaponics; in this small greenhouse a micro-ecosystem has been created. By mimicking the natural world a successful and sustainable way to produce food, organic and delicious food, has been created. And in this carefully cultivated system the plants and fish are the fruits of labor and love.
Once I’ve taken the necessary pictures in the greenhouses, I walk back. It’s a different scene in the office, instead of plants and data, there are laptops and conference calls. The philosophy we work under is called ecolonomics, a fusion of economy and ecology, business and science. The goal is to create a business that is sustainable economically and environmentally. The two may be very different but they are interdependent nonetheless. With that thought I am again reminded of the fish and the plants in the aquaponic system. I am reminded of the growing plants and that everyone here is working to make something grow.
written by Allison Baxter, Business Development Intern, Fall 2011
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