One hundred meters off the coast of Noli, Italy, scuba divers can find pods of 2,000-liter acrylic demi-spheres that resemble giant jellyfish standing at the bottom of the ocean. Anchored to the ocean floor by ropes, chains, and screws, the biospheres surround a half-ton metal tree that serves as a 12-foot-tall cable protector. But more surprising than all this is the fact that bright, fresh plants are inside, thriving 15-36 feet below the surface.
Founded in 2012 by father and son duo Sergio and Luca Gamberini and run by scuba company Ocean Reef Group, Nemo’s Garden is an underwater farm that grows anything from basil to aloe vera.
The pair, acutely aware of the limitations of Earth’s resources and humanity’s ability to squander them, sought an alternative solution for the precarious process of farming, which has become an increasingly difficult process as climate change intensifies.
“The resources we use on land right now will not be there in the future,” says Luca in an earlier video. “They’re scarce, and they will run out.”
According to an article on inverse.com¸ underwater, many of the issues of traditional farming vanish while still providing plants with their core needs. Isolated from inclement weather like hail or the devastating effects of parasites, the sunlight each plant needs still reaches the biospheres. Eliminating potential for parasites also lets Nemo’s Garden remain pesticide-free.