US (TX): Mission Waco greenhouse officially opened
It carries the name Urban REAP, which is short for Urban Renewable Energy and Agriculture Project, and is yet another program Mission Waco has launched in a North Waco neighborhood that has evolved into a source of community pride.
About 75 Mission Waco volunteers, community leaders and students showed up Tuesday to celebrate the official opening of the REAP, which includes an aquaponics greenhouse, solar energy array, rainwater catchment and purification system, composting system and a training center for youngsters.
The system serving Urban REAP features a 500-gallon tank filled with purified rainwater and 314 hybrid striped bass, whose waste serves as plant food. The aquaponic greenhouse, which was shipped in pieces from Canada and assembled in Waco, has been in use about two months and is producing radishes, tomatoes, Swiss chard, basil and Romaine lettuce.
The products are sold at Jubilee Food Market and Mission Waco’s World Cup Cafe, both at 15th Street and Colcord Avenue. The 135 Prime steakhouse on Hewitt Drive and the Baylor Club at McLane Stadium have expressed interest in acquiring the produce, Dorrell said.
Later, the system will produce 1,250 pounds of fish and crustaceans each year, the crawfish thriving in growing trays where they will eat the dead ends of plant roots and create nutrients by shedding their skins.
Read more at the Waco Tribune-Herald (Mike Copeland)