100 Gardens

Ron Morgan sharing the 100 Gardens vision in Haiti

Our Mission:

Life is ultimately about systems - organisms, social/economic systems and ecological systems. Aquaponics, which combines the ancient arts of aquaculture with modern hydroponics, sustains a platform from which 100 Gardens can advance STEM-based teaching and graphically illustrate how life can be sustained consuming less than 5% the water and 1/5 of the required space of traditional agriculture.

To encourage new ways of thinking and systemic institutional change, we forge development partnerships in schools and prisons to establish Aquaponics Labs (gardens). Our goal, is to establish at the minimum, 100 Gardens. See how it works here.

News

Aquaponics Exhibit at the 2014 Southern Spring Show

Southern Spring Show 2014 (February 2014)

We are proud to announce that The Ultimate Schoolyard Garden Exhibit has received two awards from The American Horticultural Society at the 2014 Southern Spring Show! We give big thanks to The Green Teacher Network for making this exhibit happen! For details on the Ultimate Schoolyard Gardens, visit the Green Teacher Network website here.

The Veterans Gardens

The Veterans Gardens Soon to be Launched! (February 2014)

A Veterans Garden is the first of what will become a special innovation zone at the center of our region. Utilizing the Sugar Creek flood plain at 36th Street, transitioning veterans will build and then occupy a series (approximately a dozen) small villages, ranging in size from four (4) to a dozen (12) residents. Other citizens in need will be welcomed as well. Fish production tanks and plant production areas will be scaled proportionally so that research and comparative studies, perhaps even competitions can be held between villages. A local food hub will be created for retail and trade, and trails and public walks lead around and even through larger villages. Internships will provide veterans, graduates of Stonewall Jackson Training Center, and high school students in-depth training in aquaponics systems design, construction and operation. As a network of small learning centers, this setting is one in which experimentation is encouraged in nearly every dimension of community life, from food production and recycling waste to watershed restoration.

To download the brochure, click here.

Interns Jacob Huffman and Andrew Flowers building the Aquaponics system at Garinger HS

Construction underway for the Garinger High School Aquaponics Lab (January 2014)

The new Aquaponics Lab at Garinger High School is now under construction. Jacob Huffman, a recipient of a Levine Scholarship at UNCC, is working with 100 Gardens to install the first Aquaponics system at Garinger High school. This "UVI Type" raft aquaponics system will be finished by the end of February and will serve as a science lab for Garinger students, as well as supply Frienship Trays with approximately 250 servings of high quality salad greens per week. To keep track of the progress, visit the facebook album here.

Sam with the Agronomists in Bayonnais, Haiti (Villate, Sam, Jaque-Elie)

100 Gardens in Haiti (1/10/14)

100 Gardens will begin instructing a team of agronomists in Bayonnais, Haiti, on an aquaponics training center. The center will be located next to a k-13 school which is currently producing the highest test scores on the Haitian national exams.

For more on the Aquaponics Training Center in Bayonnais, click here.

Please visit the OFCB website for details on other projects going on in Bayonnais.

Greenhouse construction connected to the Ag Mechanics workshop at South Iredell High School (Troutman, NC)

Construction Begins for the South Iredell High School Aquaponics Lab (12/4/13)

The aquaponics lab at South Iredell High School in Troutman, NC is now under construction. The lab will include indoor fish tanks located inside the AG Mechanics workshop. A roll-up door is being installed that open workshop directly into the greenhouse. The greenhouse hydroponic components will be fed by indoor fish tanks.

Ron Morgan giving a presentation about 100 Gardens to The Charlotte Rotary Club

Ron Morgan Speaks for The Charlotte Rotary Club (November 2013)

Ron Morgan presented 100 Gardens to The Charlotte Rotary Club. The Rotary Club engages in many civic projects and has members now exploring various partnership possibilities stratgeies with 100 Gardens. Visit their site here.