Aquaponics receives five figure federal funding contribution

The Fort Macleod Community Aquaponic Greenhouse Society has received a funding contribution from Environment and Climate Change Canada’s EcoAction Community Funding Program.

Recently, the federal government contributed $86,280 to the Fort Macleod group.

The funding will be used to support an outreach program called ‘Youth Changing the Course’, an exciting initiative that will allow youth in Fort Macleod and surrounding communities to learn about aquaponics, apply this learning with hands-on experience on aquaponic systems, and share the skills and knowledge gained through these activities with others in the community. This funding will support the implementation of the Outreach Program until June 2020, allowing us to employ an expert Project Coordinator who will lead the project and work with youth in our school division as well as community members in Fort Macleod to generate successful, viable aquaponic systems. Throughout the course of the program, the Fort Macleod Community Aquaponic Greenhouse Society will be doing presentations in many schools across the school division, allowing students to learn about and experience aquaponics, environmental sustainability and the importance of a healthy diet.

With four schools having already received the presentation and five more schools lined up in the next few months, we will soon reach out to over 1,000 students as part of this funding. Following these presentations, the schools will establish stand-alone aquaponic systems of their own to harvest fresh produce for use in school nutrition programs. W.A. Day School will be the first school to participate in this project.

With the knowledge and confidence gained through this Outreach Program, students will be leaders in demonstrating the possibility of growing more food locally and sustainably. Participation from community members in the Youth Changing the Course program is encouraged, so if you are interested in volunteering, please contact Linda Gonnet, bonnet.linda9@gmail.com, Susan Glover smglover@telusplanet.net, or Ronda Reach, Ronda.Reach@albertahealthservices.ca.

To get updates on this project, follow the Fort Macleod Community Aquaponic Greenhouse page on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter @FMAquaponics.