VIU students design sustainable food systems

VIU students Matt van Dinther and Savonah MacLeod gained hands-on learning experiences promoting food security and well-being in a remote British Columbia community as part of a VIU study.

Students from Horticulture, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Engineering, and Refrigeration and Air Conditioning worked with Heilsuk (Haíłzaqv)’s Climate Action Team to develop aquaponics and aeroponic tower gardens as a land-based solution for food security and food sovereignty.

We caught up with Matt and Savonah to learn more about their experiences working on the project. Here’s what they have to say about it.

Learning in the real world
Matt, a refrigeration and air conditioning engineering student at VIU who graduated this June, worked on the project with his team of three. They built the water cooling and heating system to ensure the temperature was right for fish and plants. Matt says the work allowed him to apply his knowledge to real-world systems, such as equipment selection, piping, soldering, electrical wiring, testing and overall design.

“Our trainers were very helpful and enthusiastic in this project. They supported us with their experience and knowledge to fill in any gaps,” he says.
A highlight of the project for Matt was working with students and faculty who are passionate about the refrigeration industry.

“It was rewarding to gain practical knowledge and experience while contributing to such a large-scale project,” says Matt. “Food safety is of paramount importance in the 21st century and something that remote communities in particular will have to deal with sooner or later. I believe COVID has shown how fragile the supply chain can be and these communities need to take action to be successful in the future.”

Savonah, a horticulture student from VIU, worked on the project along with her class. The class researched how to improve greenhouse farming knowledge, practices and skills related to aeroponic production technology. They also researched the needs of the land.

“My group’s research looked at the production or growing plan needed to supply a household with fresh produce from an aeroponic tower twice a month,” says Savonah. “We sowed, grew, and made predictions about harvest times to create and present a 12-month plan to members of the Heiltsuk Nation community.”
She learned about production plans and how they are used in the industry to identify key events and dates in crop production to ensure that crops are ready for harvest on time.

“A highlight of this project was presenting our findings to other students and representatives of the Heiltsuk Nation at the VIU campus in Nanaimo. This event fostered conversations that generated new ideas for food sovereignty work in Bella Bella,” says Savonah.

The Horticulture class received the Keynote Award and the Indigenous Book Award at VIU’s CREATE conference for their work on the project.

Source: viu.ca