RAD Sustainability

By: Joe Martino

The greenhouse itself was quite the process.  It was started two  years ago by a group of students who had developed independent internship and learning contracts through RAD Services to build it.  After one or two trips to the Clean Energy Committee (CEC) and the Campus Land Use Committee (CLUC), that group earned funding as well as rights to build on the SW corner of N Building in campus housing.  The group continued to struggle with bureaucracy, and during their efforts, the initiating student completed his collegiate career at the end of summer in 2012.  At this time I came on as the site and project manager, and in the fall, developed a similar learning contract.  

With the majority of the team intact, and continued support from RAD and the CEC, we worked to reestablish communications with the CLUC, began networking to learn, and developed an inventory of materials that had been purchased by the initiating team.  Reestablishing communications with the CLUC consisted of developing transparent and consistent communications, as well as distributing responsibility for various parts of the project among RAD Pro Staff and Campus Facilities members.  Scott Morgan, Evergreen’s Director of Sustainability, took on the role of project manager to work with the students and guide them through campus processes.  

Networking to learn consisted of the establishment of communications with Jessica Schilke, an Evergreen student who had established a Deep Water Culture aquaponics system at the Organic Farm.  At this point, the system is fully operational, and I believe is almost entirely run by interns!  If you are interested in being involved I believe you can catch up with her.  Jessica, myself, Daniel Cherniske, and Grant Gilmore were also fortunate enough to take a few trips out to some aquaponics enthusiasts in the state.   

The trips were designed to further acquaint ourselves with the practice of aquaponics, and these were very fruitful trips.  For the first time, at least for myself and Daniel, we saw swirl filters, auto-siphons, media beds, red tilapia, blue tilapia, and papayas being grown in Washington State.  There is more info on this work in another post!  Check it out!

The inventory was a slog through past purchases, through which we discovered a number of materials that we did not feel to be suitable for their application.  A number of these concerns were supported by vendors, so we moved to recoup costs through returns, and were quite successful in this endeavor.  

More soon.