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Aquaponics 3 Day Intensive is unfortunately unavailable

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Aquaponics 3 Day Intensive

  • All levels
  • 18 and older
  • $795
  • 3555 Ogden Ave, Chicago, IL
  • 28 hours over 4 sessions

Start Dates (0)

  • $795
  • Farm on Ogden @ 3555 Ogden Ave, Chicago, IL 60623
  • 28 hours over 4 sessions
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Class Description

Description

What you'll learn in this gardening class:

This course is for individuals seriously considering or already in the process of aquaponic food production on a commercial scale. This course is a comprehensive look at the design and build-out of a system, water quality, controlled-environment growing, daily operations, and growing techniques. Instruction will include hands-on work and lectures.

This is a certificate course.

Aquaponics Three-Day Intensive Course Sample Agenda

Day One

  • Meet and greet: Introductions and goals.
  • Aquaponics overview and history. (Discussion and Q&A)
  • Farm on Ogden aquaponics tour.
  • Aquaponics system design and construction; A review of common aquaponic designs, typical
    hardware and sub-systems with an emphasis on the systems and methods utilized at Farm on Ogden. (Discussion, hands-on lab time, Q&A)

Day Two

  • The biology and chemistry of aquaponics growing systems: A view of all aspects of the living system that powers an aquaponics system.
  • Discussion will emphasize the problem areas of running an aquaponics farm, including water testing, nutrient deficiencies, supplement management and assessment of general system health.
  • Detailed look at Integrated Pest Management (IPM). (Discussion and Q&A)
  • Comparison and critique of aquaponics vs. hydroponics vs. traditional soil-based growing
    methods. (Discussion and Q&A)
  • All things fish: Selection, nursery, feeding, health, harvesting and marketing. (Discussion and Q&A)
  • Commercial aquaponics production: Commercial feasibility, design considerations, business models, production system management, crop management, selection and planning, seed propagation, day-to-day growing procedures, harvest processing, work flows, and GAP/USDA/FDA rule compliance. (Discussion and Q&A)

Day Three

  • Running the system: A day in the life of Windy City Harvest aquaponics–We begin with a typical start-of-day system walk through, water testing and take any necessary actions. The fish are fed and daily system maintenance gets completed, including cycle system filters, sequester system, green produce harvest, and processing.
  • Daily nursery maintenance and regular processes: The group moves seedlings to production system and starts to production. They seed new starts, move starts to nursery, and manage nursery data logs.
  • Fish harvest and processing.
  • Discussion of operational procedures & methods. (Q&A)
  • Final seminar discussion and recap. (Q&A)

Who should take this course?

If you are serious about growing food through your own aquaponics system and want the opportunity to participate in hands-on, in-depth professional training, this course is for you. When you complete this training, you will be able to design, build, and operate an aquaponics system for personal, education, or commercial use.

What will I learn?

  • Take a practical look at what works and does not work in aquaponics.
  • The importance and requirements of filtration/waste processing sub-system maintenance.
  • General system maintenance, including water testing, water supplementation, daily crop inspection, and IPM (Integrated Pest Management) tasks, and fish feeding.
  • Procedures for standard data collection and logging.
  • Aquaponics system design, including design features unique to our system.

What are the hands-on parts of the course?

A full day is devoted to a behind-the-scenes look at how Windy City Harvest’s production system operates, as well as the system's aquaponics nursery and the management involved in the integration of these two systems. Students will work hands on, experiencing all major operational tasks involved in running a production-scale system:

  • Plant propagation
  • Nursery management
  • Transfer to the production system
  • Produce harvest and post-harvest handling, focusing on USDA/GAP best practices
  • Tilapia management and harvest
  • Opportunity to fabricate some of the custom components employed in the Windy City Harvest production system. 

Regular system-wide maintenance:

  • System mechanical considerations
  • Filtration management
  • Water quality testing and management
  • Integrated Pest Management routines, following organic growing guidelines

Refund Policy

Refund requests must be submitted to [email protected] 2 business days prior to the program’s start date and time. The registration fee will be refunded less a 15% processing charge. A refund is issued in the form of a credit on file (to be used for future programs).

Refund requests submitted less than 48 hours prior to a program start date are non-transferable and are not eligible for a refund.

Fees are nonrefundable and nontransferable on and after the program’s start date. We cannot refund fees requested on or after the start date of a program or for sessions missed due to student illness or other personal situations.

Registration fees for courses grouped and priced as a series will be considered one program and subject to all of the above guidelines. A refund request must be received prior to the start date of the series' first class session and will subsequently cancel your registration in every session of the series.

In any event where a customer wants to cancel their enrollment and is eligible for a full refund, a 5% processing fee will be deducted from the refund amount.

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Chicago Botanic Garden

The Chicago Botanic Garden opened a little more than 40 years ago as a beautiful place to visit, and it has matured into one of the world's great living museums and conservation science centers. In 2013, one million people visited the Garden's 26 gardens and four natural areas, uniquely situated on...

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Chicago Botanic Garden

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