818-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 9, 1994 Aquaculture Studies Prepare Students For Better Understanding VERNON ACHGNBACH JR. Lancaster Fanning Staff. ELIZABETHTOWN (Lancas ter Co.) Located in the lack of the Elizabethtown High School are two small buildings surrounded by a chain link fence. One is a shed really. The othera simple frame greenhouse. The buildings are being used as part of the school’s agricultural studies. The fence is needed to pre vent vandalism. Inside the 20-foot by 20-foot shed, there are several 100-gallon fiberglass fish tanks, surrounded by a plumtfer’s maze of white polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubing. The tanks are also partially hid den by living filters aerobic bacteria-hosting mediums over which return water is trickled so that fish wastes in the water can be better broken down into harmless components. Air pumps constantly chug. The air is humid and space somewhat restricted. There are other tanks with water pipes and SS-gallon plastic drums filled with water. Other drums are filled with makeshift, but depend able water filters, and submersible pumps. Sheets of bubble plastic hang down on the inside of the door. The same is true at the 20-foot by 14-foot greenhouse bubble plastic sheets serve as insulating curtains and protect the inside from dramatic changes in tempera ture and humidity. In the greenhouse, long narrow trays hold a root and moisture medium under which flows a nutri ent and acid balanced solution. The trays are really PVC rainsp outing and the ends drain into large reservoir tanks. A water-nutrient solution is cycled through a simple system and tomatoes, parsley, peppers, and cucumbers grow. The greenhouse is the hydro- Andy Myara, son of Raymond and Barbara Myara, roads tha fertilizer (aval in solution in tha hydroponics gardan at Elizabathtown High School. ponies lab. The shed is the aqua culture lab. Both aquaculture and hydropon ics (water working) systems, are part of the educational options available to students at Elizabeth town High School through its Agricultural Department The course is called the Aquatic Resources Class. But it teaches more than how to feed fish and fer tilize greenhouse plants. It teaches that when one really understands the functions of a sys tem, then imagination and work can make it a reality. The classes are taught by A 1 Martin, an agricultural instructor at Elizabethtown High School. He created the class as an elective, non-required course. Students who sign up get educa tional credit for the course. They also get an education. There is no doubt that Martin is responsible for the existance of the course. The district doesn’t really support the program. If Martin weren’t there to put in the extra time, the extra effort and use his own money, it wouldn’t be done. The odd shapes and materials used in construction of the aquatic and hyrdoponic facilities, are the result of Martin spending his time on weekends and weeknights with the course in mind. He has pur chased items at K-Mart that were designed for general home storage devices, because he saw in them the potential to be adapted for use in the aquaculture facility. Just the way he sees potential in his students. On his own time, on his home telephone, at his own cost, he calls across the United States to check out types of fish that the students might be able to raise. He pays for the fish the students raise, when he orders them. The result is that, in the two learning centers, the students can ■ book knowli if r ’ and alkalinity, water' temperature, humidity, fish and plant growth rates, feeding mechanics, and the basics of a complete animal and plant production system. There are very few high school biology cunicidums which can offer as much practical under standing of living systems to go along and reinforce conceptual understanding. With 25 years teaching at Eli zabethtown, Martin is currendy an instructor of aquaculture, hydro Chris Willenbecher shows two, 1-year-old Tilapia raised In one of the tanks in the Agriculture Department’s closed system aquaculture facility at Elizabethtown High School. A student ties support strings to psppsr plants In ths hydroponics grssnhouss at Elizabethtown High School, while other tend to other chores. ponics. wildlife management and agriculture at the school. He can also teach industrial arts, which was his Erst teaching degree achieved. After 13 years at the school, however, the industrial arts department was cut back and in order to stay employed by the dis trict, he returned to Penn State and got another degree in agricultural education. Martin also currendy teaches with the school’s Young Farmer program, a continuing education program for adult farmers. The farmers have helped Martin with his students’ courses. Through them, he was able to acquire the plastic drums they are recycled teat dip containers that Martin cleaned and other items, such as filters that are designed for use in a milking system. Just to be sure that the use of alternate materials to construct the aquaculture facilities didn’t bring (Turn to Pag* B 20)
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