Pod Pioneers

Post date: Nov 21, 2016 5:37:59 PM

Organization

An urban agriculture online community: ~400 members, 40 active members worldwide and four core members in Montreal

PODpioneers are any individual or community that grows food using the "solaroof" method-- a bubble-insulated, liquid-cooled roofing system that regulates the interior temperature to achieve temperate temperatures in various climates to extend the growing season and protect plants and living things year-round. Pioneered in Montreal and applied in Norway, this method is offered to be presented to the public by the PODpioneers.

Motivation

PODworks wants to engage with other members of the open collaboration economy to learn how to better participate in this realm. We would like to engage with other groups interested in urban agriculture and living labs. We would like to build, test and share innovations that we have been working on that have been developed proudly in Montreal, by Montrealers. We would like to deepen our understanding of the work Sensorica and Ouishare have been creating in hopes of developing solutions to extending the season for growing food in an urban environment with harsh winter temperatures.

We want to create a small-scale aquaponics installation that is housed in a transparent, double-membraned, polyethylene-covered roof covering. It will be used to grow pepper plants or tomatoes. We want to monitor the growth of the plants within the conditions of the insulated, transparent roof system. We would have our "solaroof" prototype onsite with presentation materials on how it is supposed to work or we can build a full structure to invite other urban agriculture groups to grow food in the space which is similar to the community project we developing in Toledo, Ohio.

Expectations

We expect to develop positive partnerships with other groups and organizations in the VOICE project to help grow the collaborative economy in Verdun. We would like to get more members in Verdun with expertise in engineering, hydroponics, and automation and urbaan agriculture to collaborate on a "living lab" type project to grow food using various methods that are measured in real-time for at least a five consecutive seasons (spring to winter to spring).