AquaSprouts, the brainchild of St. Edward’s student Jack Ikard, is now fully funded through its Kickstarter campaign! They exceeded their goal of $60,000 with almost two weeks of the campaign left to go. Over the past few weeks, Jack and his team have been interviewed by Bloomberg Radio, Huffington Post, Good Housekeeping, WiredInsider, The Daily Meal, and more national news outlets.
AquaSprouts makes use of aquaponics, which is a closed-loop system in which fish and plants work together to create a sustainable ecosystem. When the fish are fed, they create waste that is pumped into the AquaSprouts grow-bed. Naturally occurring bacteria then break down the waste and saturate the grow-bed with nutrients; producing strong, healthy plants while cleaning the water for the fish. Examples of plants you can grow with an AquaSprouts Garden include lettuce, basil garlic, mint, cilantro, oregano, marigolds, wheat grass, thyme, green onions, spinach, parsley, swiss chard, and peppers. Below the grow-bed, a wide variety of fish can be added to the tank, from goldfish to betas, tetras, guppies, and more. By creating this symbiotic relationship between fish and plants, these countertop ecosystems eliminate the need for a traditional filter, toxic fertilizers, and other chemicals that harm fish and contaminate food.
If you’re interested in becoming a backer of AquaSprouts and receiving your Garden at a special Kickstarter price (starting at $139), you have until October 30th, 2014 to get your pledge in. If you’re not ready for a Garden of your own but would still like to support the project, you can donate as little as $1. Pledges over $10 will receive some pretty cool thank you gifts in return!