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 Mineral County Aquaponic Project History of Utilization. The Aquaculture Program component of the Mineral County Vocational Technical Center is located in Keyser, West Virginia. This region known as the Eastern Panhandle lies entirely within the Potomac River Basin and is bordered in the north by the state of Maryland and the south by the state of Virginia with the panhandle connecting the remainder of the state at the Allegheny Plateau. The Aquaculture Project serves high school students and adults from Elk Garden, Frankfort, and Keyser High School districts and residents from nearby Maryland as well. Two hundred twenty two agricultural education students are currently involved in the aquaculture program as well as over one hundred fifty middle and high school students who are enrolled in science and biology programs that participate in an integrated science and aquaculture instructional program. The site continues to be used for local, regional, and state inservice workshops for agriculture, science, and math teachers, summer enrichment classes, and for presentations to civic and community organizations. Since 1994, the aquaculture program has been collaborating with the Conservation Fund's Freshwater Institute, Potomac Headwaters RC&D, Potomac Valley Soil Conservation District, West Virginia Soil and Water Agency , and the Lightstone Foundation in expanding its classroom and community based aquaculture curriculum. Together these groups have joined forces to support the program for the benefit of students and the community.Through continued support from these agencies, Mineral County Schools and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation ,a gutter connect greenhouse was constructed to house the aquaculture laboratory and to develop a model integrated aquaculture and hydroponic "aquaponic" production/education system. With technical assistance from the Freshwater Institute, the existing aquaculture laboratory tank system for rearing tilapia was refitted to utilize wastewater for hydroponic plant production. Raised gravel beds were constructed to serve as the hydroponic plant growing media. Water and fish waste collected in the bottom of the fish tanks is pumped from the tanks in cycles where it is utilized by speciality vegetables and then returned to the culture tanks. Water quality is improved for fish culture and production by this man-made ecosystem and valuable by-products such as tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and herbs from the hydroponic component will be produced. Students involved in the program will develop marketing strategies for the produce and fish at local farmers markets and at the wholesale level. Results from this emerging "Aquaponic" Project will be useful to farmers and entrepreneurs as a possible means to enhance profits from traditional farming operations. In addition to the integrated aquaculture and hydroponic component computer monitoring hardware interfaced with monitoring software allows students to monitor and control water quality through operation of the state of the art system. Graphing and charting will also be done by students to show the relationship between water quality and fish growth. This non-traditional training motivates students to learn principles of biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics. The opportunity to take learning to the doing stage promotes retention of knowledge and is more stimulating to students and teachers alike. Community members and students will be involved in all phases of the project including operation of the laboratory and development of a business plan and marketing strategy. The Lightstone Foundation has committed funding to provide paid summer student youth apprenticeships at the site. The Future Stewards Youth Apprenticeship Program will also provide a paid ten day intensive training session for five students at the Lightstone Foundation in Moyers, WV. This workshop will stress the importance of environmental preservation and sustainable agriculture. The Lightstone Foundation will also provide funding for a community service conservation project to be developed and completed by workshop participants. Information from the project will be accessible over the Internet through a world wide web site featuring the Mineral County Aquaculture Project and two Alabama schools, who are also supported by the Freshwater Institute. This site was developed as a cooperative venture between The University of Alabama Program for Rural Services , the Freshwater Institute, and the Mineral County Aquaculture Project. Results from the project will be shared with West Virginia University Cooperative Extension Service Aquaculture Specialist, Agnes Spicer, who will in turn make data available to interested parties.
Within Mineral County a new trend is emerging. Historically from
the 1950's through the 1980's, citizens had access to numerous jobs
in both the light and heavy industry. Located within a twenty mile
radius were plants and factories that produced nationally marketed goods.
Mineral County graduates and residents now have fewer opportunities
for employment due to closing and down sizing of Penn Ventilator, Anchor
Glass, Flex-O Lite, Allegheny Ballistics, and Romney Shoe. Furthermore,
Bausch and Lomb, another major employer, recently announced that its
company in nearby Oakland, Maryland will be closing as well. Therefore,
development of and access to nontraditional opportunities is critical.
The location barrier of rural West Virginia communities must be broken
to expose our students and residents to global skills and opportunities.
According to the United States Census, twenty five percent of adults in
Mineral County have not completed high school. This situation coupled
with displaced workers due to the deteriorating economic situation
means that retraining opportunities are very much needed in the Mineral
County area. Aquaculture may provide one of those opportunities.
Through the Mineral County Aquaponic Project we will : 1. Develop and present workshops on our technology driven integrated "Aquaponic" Program for school, agriculture, civic, community, state, and national organizations. This will further expose all sectors of the community to our "Aquaponic" Project while also expanding opportunities for outside involvement on the state and national level. 2. Use the aquaculture laboratory as a site for students to develop and conduct lab research and experiments that encourage them to complete tasks. Students will formally report their results, thus improving technical writing skills and the application of the scientific method in research. 3. Serve as a summer and after school workshop site for Mineral County elementary, middle, and high school enrichment programs. Students will be given additional opportunities to learn and take responsibility beyond the normal school day and session. 4. Open our doors to elementary, middle, and high school students and adults throughout West Virginia and the nation for their involvement in our integrated program. Collaborative teaching partnerships will be formed. Communication between students involved outside of our location will take place through our Internet site and through E-mail. 5. Expand opportunities for students through incorporation of computer monitoring into our curriculum. Students will use the computer to monitor and control water quality. Through this activity critical thinking and computer skills will be enhanced as students summarize, interpret , evaluate and analyze data compiled from the "Aquaponic" Project. 6. Reduce the current high school drop out rate. Students excel and have ownership in their school when they are given meaningful real life activities to complete. 7. Provide data to schools and entrepreneurs interested in obtaining information about aquaculture and hydroponics. 8. Provide agriculturists with alternatives to supplement their income from traditional agriculture enterprises. 9. Establish our site as a regional and state demonstration facility that would produce videos, provide lectures and host agricultural and integrated academic conferences thereby bringing people from surrounding areas into Mineral County. 1 0. Retrain displaced workers and work with the GED program students at Mneral County Vocational Technical Center. Students will gain valuable skills and acquire knowledge in science, mathematics, hydroponics, computer applications, marketing, and aquaculture, the nations fastest growing agriculture industry. I 1. Promote and demonstrate conservation and sustainable agriculture practices. 12. Improve water quality and community awareness of the importance of promoting conservation of natural resources, 13. Implement an articulation agreement between Garrett County Community College and the Nfineral County Vocational Technical Center. This cooperative agreement will allow high school students to obtain college credit for completing the aquaculture curriculum at the vocational center. Furthermore, Garrett Community College students interested in obtaining a certificate option in aquaculture will have the opportunity to complete the aquaculture program at the Mneral County Vocational Technical Center. 14. Improve business and marketing skiffs of students through the management of the aquaponic school based enterprise. Aqua Guide Aquaculture Network Information Center Aquaculture News American Fisheries Society Northern Aquaculture Aquatic Network U.S. Trout Farmers Association Aquaculture Magazine European Aquaculture Society MCVTC ~ 600 Harley O. Staggers Dr. ~ Keyser, WV 26726 voice: 304-788-4240 ~ fax: 304-788-4243 [Home] ~ [Directions] ~ [Faculty] ~ [Departments] ~ [Courses] ~ [Advisors] ~ [Students] ~ [Jobs/Careers] ~ [Search] ~ [Web Design] ~ [Email Directory] |
