Learner Spotlight: The Carey Family

There’s never a dull moment in the Carey household of eight! Whether designing graphics for t-shirts or crafting with wood, they are bursting with curiosity and can always be found diving into experiential projects or exploring the world around them.

Most important to this family is eating healthy without breaking the bank. As Plato said, “Necessity is the mother of invention!” and such is the case with the Carey family when they began their adventures in AQUAPONICS.

Aquaponics is an urban farming system that combines aquaculture (the farming of fish and aqua plants) with hydroponics (growing plants in a mineral water solvent without soil). It has much less of an environmental footprint than other farming methods and is a fantastic way to farm in the city.

According to Aubrey (5th grade), “You can grow so many things with aquaponics. Fruits and vegetables like bananas, pineapple, Swiss chard, and kale. Also, herbs like basil and mint.” In fact, one of 7th-grader Alma’s favorite things to grow is mint, because she loves the smell.

Malayah (11th grade), who loves reading and journalism, describes the aquaponics process in full detail, explaining that harvesting from aquaponics provides larger quantities in shorter periods of time compared to other farming methods. Ammon (6th grade) is all about the details and pays close attention to ensuring the intricate parts of the system are all in check. Marvin (9th grade) enjoys the engineering and building aspect of the aquaponics system, as well as the tasty talapia.

Aquaponics has been the perfect learning platform for the Carey family, studying all things including agriculture, biology, chemistry, math and the history of ancient civilizations. Creating a system like this in their home is quite an undertaking; however, the Careys say the payoffs are huge.