On Thursday, September 24, students in RSU #13’s Middle Level Alternative Education program, in partnership with Herring Gut Learning Center, presented to over 400 middle school students at the Knox-Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation Fair.  In the weeks preceding the fair, students prepared hands-on demonstrations about aquaponics.  At the fair, they presented about water quality, how to set up a classroom-sized aquaponics system, and the differences between planting in soil and growing aquaponically.  Herring Gut students are the only student presenters at the fair, which includes booths and presentations about conservation topics, environmental issues, live animals and farming, music, and fun.  

Herring Gut student, Jarrett said, “I was really nervous about the station I had to do, but when I did it a few times I felt confident.  It was mind-blowing how many people were there and many people were saying we were doing a great job.”

The Conservation Fair is an annual event that kicks-off the year’s partnership between Herring Gut and the Alt. Ed. Middle Level program.  Throughout the school year, students attend classes twice a week at Herring Gut, learning their science curriculum by running a small aquaponics business.  Aquaponics is the cultivation of plants and aquatic animals in a recirculating system.  Students grow tilapia in fish tanks at Herring Gut and the water from the tanks fertilizes plants in a greenhouse.  Students sell the produce they grow to local stores and at their school, learning science skills, teamwork, and entrepreneurial skills in the process. 

Founded in 1999, Herring Gut Learning Center is a non-profit education center in Port Clyde that partners with public schools to engage students and teachers in hands-on aquaculture and marine science programs, provides professional development opportunities for K-12 teachers, and offers a summer first work experience for young teens. For more information, visit www.herringgut.org.