Five questions for Chiara Fasoli...
..who is in her final year of the Master's programme in Sustainable Production and Utilization of Marine Bioresources and has been involved in setting up an aquaponic system at Fridaskolan in Gothenburg.
1 Explain what an aquaponic system is!
“It is a closed circular system consisting of three parts: bacteria, plants, and fish. The wastewater from the fish tank is purified by the bacteria in order to become usable food for the plants. Plants grow up to three times faster in aquaponics systems than they would in soil, and up to 90% less of the water that would be needed for a soil production is necessary for such systems.”
2 Where does the initiative come from?
“The project is led by Blue food - Centre for future seafood. The aim is to guide eighth-grade students in learning more about sustainable food production by doing things hands-on. It can also be linked to other subjects and support the already existing curriculum. ”
3 What is your role?
“I am currently writing my thesis, where I am developing guidelines for teachers to use an aquaponic system as a tool for the learning process. I also help manage the facility, with the assistance of the students.”
4 What is your background?
“I have a bachelor's degree in communication from my home country, Italy, but I felt that I wanted to shift my studies toward sustainable development. It was an event with the Extinction Rebellion network that made me think about the challenges we will face in the close future and how I could contribute to deal with them.”
5 What are your plans for the future?
“I would like to stay in Sweden, as I feel that sustainability issues are more central here. But eventually, I would like to go back to Italy and possibly start an aquaponics’ based restaurant over there, to combine sustainable tourism, education, and food production. ”
Text: Camilla Persson