Time for another intern profile. This week it is about Mike Wolf who has been doing great work here working on water quality, chemical management, and studying how to cycle an aquaponics systems. Here is a little more about him in his own words:

My name is Mike Wolf. I am a senior at Colorado State University studying Environmental Health. I am a big outdoors guy with hunting and fishing being my favorite activities. Right now I am a water quality intern at Nourish the Planet where I am responsible for checking water quality parameters for the various aquaponics systems we have.  I hope to one day own my own Aquaponics farm.

When did you first become interested in sustainability? I first became interested in sustainability when I learned to fish as a kid. I learned that by only harvesting what you could eat for that day led to more fish in the future.

What are the most interesting/important things that you’ve learned since being an intern at Nourish the Planet? The most important thing that I have learned while interning at Nourish the Planet is that growing your own food both increases appreciation for it and empowers you to take care of yourself.

How do you incorporate sustainability into your life? I grow my own lettuce and basil inside my apartment using a simple hydroponic garden.

What do you want to see change in the world in the next 10 years? I would like to see a move away from demonizing hunting and fishing as a means of feeding yourself here in America through education about the benefits of hunting and fishing to us humans and the animals we harvest.

What are your goals for the future? I would like to one day own a commercial Aquaponics food crop farm that will supply fresh fish and produce to local restaurants and markets.

If you could give advice to your younger self, what would it be? I would tell myself to get into Aquaponics sooner instead of waiting 21 years to find out about it.

What is the number one place that you would like to travel to?  New Zealand has always been my number one place to go. Mountains and the ocean in one place sounds like a dream come true.

What do you do to “get away from it all” or what is your passion? I would say hunting and fishing are my passions. They bring you back to your basic need to feed yourself making everything else not so important.

What is your favorite book that you’ve read in the past year? I would say that my favorite book that I have read in the past year was, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. The book is an historical novel set in medieval England and follows the construction of a cathedral.

What do you wish you were better at? I wish I was better at writing. I would love to be better at writing so I could convey my ideas as clearly as I’m thinking them.

Name one thing that you could not live without? I couldn’t live without fishing. Fishing is my way to relax and if I couldn’t go fishing I’d probably go crazy.

Thanks so much for all the great work that you do Mike!