Since there are no currently active contests, we have switched Climate CoLab to read-only mode.
Learn more at https://climatecolab.org/page/readonly.
Skip navigation
Share via:

Pitch

Integrating vertical aquaponic and algae farms in unused walls/roofs, promoting sustainability, creating a community for STEAMS education


Description

Summary

There are millions of acres of unused wall/rooftop space in the world which are not being utilized. We are offering an exponential impact by converting this wasted space into a vertical farms:

1) By creating more urban agriculture, if even 10% of a person's food would come super-locally, millions of $s wasted from lost produce in logistics would be saved as well as hundreds of thousands of acres of rainforest.

2) By utilizing walls and rooftops for plants and algae/fish tanks, at least 4%-8% of energy used in heating/cooling a home could be saved.

3) Research shows a white roof is more efficient at reducing the urban heat island effect than a 'green roof', but if you paint part of the roof white and have tanks of algae on it or a greenhouse, it would be reduced even more.

4) Algae is one of the most amazing and beneficial/detrimental living things on the Earth, and a majority of people in the world hate it due to algal blooms. Algae can be used to make biofuel at least 1000x more efficiently than any other plant, can be used to make plastic, fertilizer, super-nutrient packed fish and human food, medicine, and creams.

5) The effects of increasing proper STEAMS (Science, technology, engineering, art, math, and sustainability) education to people is exponential in itself, from making better long term choices financially to personally as well, and by increasing the amount people are impacted with STEAMS, the more they are OK with allowing new legislation, or even contacting businesses to integrate these products in their model.

6) With sunlight, vertical space and a small amount of startup costs, any person can begin a business and receive a nice ROI within 2 years with our partner application, GrabAFruit.com. Teach any person to become self-sufficient and take this to any school or apartment building, thus spreading knowledge of multiple causes without expending any resources of our own. 


Category of the action

Adaptation


Who will take these actions?

Our first targets would be to contact organizations most interested in lending us their space, such as NPOs, government agencies and schools.

From there, first movers or urban gardening enthusiasts would most likely volunteer at an opportunity to bring this to effect. With some schools set up with simple aquaponic systems on a rooftop, eventually more advanced greenhouses can be set up, to even transforming roofs to entertainment venues with trees, increasing the canopy area of effect. 


What are other key benefits?

I think I already mentioned this in the summary... It's exponential. 


What are the proposal’s costs?

Costs could range from $10 a system to thousands of $'s a system.

Recycling plastic bottles, construction materials, pvc pipes, garbage cans can be used for easy to set up systems, or advanced materials can be used, to even high-end beautiful systems for large corporations.

Since our first partners will be schools, most of which already have plenty of supplies lying around, that is the biggest costs. After you have a system set up, the only yearly expenses are getting seeds, which is pennies, and then water and electricity, which again are minimal, as is fish food, which eventually won't be needed once an algae farm is set up.

I can attach a document here.  


Time line

Within 1 year, we can easily have a network of 20 schools set up with locations, as well as partners with community centers. 

I have been here in Jerusalem setting up a network and within 2 months already have a nursery linked up to a small aquaponic farm at a school, and a rooftop of a community center starting construction, with 2 more schools expressing interest.


Related proposals


References