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US (PA): Downtown aquaponics lab debuts in Pittsburgh

A shipping container near the Gateway T station Downtown is a Tiny House — but for tilapia. A 160-square-foot demonstration project, it will be in place until Oct. 31 to promote aquaponics as a model of urban farming that uses little energy and little space to create lots of food.

It is a partnership between aquaponics students at the University of Pittsburgh and the Door Campaign, with $22,000 in funding, $10,000 of it from the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s BetaBurgh program. BetaBurgh rewards local, entrepreneurial startups that enliven public spaces. Sipes & Son was the general contractor.

Starting in November and over the next year, Pitt students will work on the aquaponics lab to make it the most efficient environment they can, said Vinh Luong, a sophomore in computer science and an aquaponics advocate.

Each harvest, based on the weight of lettuce, should reap 12 pounds of produce and various numbers of fish for food every five to six months, he said.

The Door Campaign’s founder, Quincy Swatson, hopes to use the Pitt data to replicate systems on a larger scale as a social enterprise to sell fish and produce to restaurants.

Read more at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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