Our team was assembled because of our strong backgrounds in mechanics and biology. We also share an interest in sustainability which made our adoption of this project a natural fit! We complied a team contract linked below.
Middlebrook Gardens is mainly an educational space aimed at age groups from 4 to 15 years old. We kept the educational focus in mind when researching the garden and looking for potential projects within the garden's existing infrastructure.
Our first onsite visit occurred this week (4/9). We interviewed Alrie to discern which project within the Middlebrook garden was most pressing. We looked at the grey water retrieval system, the biogas filter, and the aquaponics system. Since the aquaponics system is an interactive, educational component of the garden and can also be used as a revenue stream, we selected this project as the highest need. This supports CNGF's mission of creating self-contained and sustainable
This week we focused on better understanding how aquaponics systems work and the different aspects of care that goes into the upkeep. I systhesized a document that contained an overview of how aquaponics systems function biologically, which lay the foundation for our educational materials.
One our garden visit this week we measured the pump so we could start fitting a filter. I was responsible for measuring the levels of nitrate and nitrite in the water which is an indicator of system health.
In class, we were trained in the Maker Lab, however I was unfortunately sick this day. I did make up the training and was introduced to the 3D printers, laser cutters, and various tools in the Maker Lab. This will be a great space to grow my skills in rapid prototyping.
As we are half way through the project, I decided to write a half way report for our community partner, Alrie, to read. She had expressed her frustration to my teammates on their last visit (I was unable to attend) and I felt that expressing our commitment to her vision may help her better understand our perspective. I included how our pieces of working on water flow, education, and the filter were part of her greater vision and she responded positively to the report.
This week we worked mainly on Reflection 1 as a way to evaluate where we were in the design process and how our design required civic responsibility.
We also researched materials for our filter and decided on a sturdy plastic mesh. We hope that this mesh will allow enough water through, but will also keep its shape so that the filter does not get sucked into the pump intake.
After purchasing materials, I began to make paper prototypes to experiment with design for the pump filter. I faced difficulties in finding a way to attach the end caps to the cylindrical body of the filter. I am going to make a smaller replica of the pump to help test prototypes.
This week we presented our project update to our peers, our professor, and our community partner, Alrie. A copy of the presentation is available under Project Documentation > Week 7. Overall, Alrie seemed happy with our progress. She requested a version of the pamphlet aimed at children with an interactive element. She also wanted us to include a statement about how the aquaponics system contributes to community health. We have become focused on our direct outcomes of water characterization and filter design, but we have not integrated this into the more abstract vision of the garden.
This week was a work week during which we moved media from Hester Garden (an associated garden attached to nearby Hester Elementary) to Middlebrook. Hester currently has a non-operational aquaponics system, so we were told we could use the lava rock in their media beds.
We also tested our working prototype for the pump filter, but still had not come up with a solution the cap the ends of the filter. Because the plastic mesh we chose did not have a rigid structure, forming the sheet around the ends of the filter proved difficult. We decided to prototype possible structures in the coming week. We tested the velcro, and it was attachable and detachable underwater. It could still be used as a fastener in later models.
With only one week left in the quarter, we prioritized tasks during our team meeting. We decided that with our limited time, the education materials were most important as teaching the community about aquaponics is the main function of the system at Middlebrook Gardens. Lindsey and Keala decided to stay on campus to finalize the brochure and develop kid-friendly activities, while Brooke and I went to the garden to finish filling the IBC with the lava rock we had moved the week before. When we arrived at the garden, there was a news anchor reporting on the garden. He interviewed me and so I as able to further Middlebrook's mission by explaining aquaponics as well as the importance of the garden to the community.
Our final steps were to implement our filter structure, take measurements for flow rate and nitrate/nitrite levels, and synthesize our work into a final presentation. I visited the garden alone on Sunday, as no other teammates were availible and I was the most confident in my sewing abilities. This compensated for the previous visit that I was unavailible for and was happy to go. During this visit I created a plastic structure that fit inside the filter bag to keep the mesh away from the pump intake. I also measured flow rates of the deep culture bed, the pond input, and the bed 1 input, and the nitrate/nitrite levels throughout the system.