Rotary Club Tours Canton Elementary Aquaponics Lab

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Rotary Club of Canton members recently toured the new aquaponics lab at Canton Elementary School STEM Academy, a project the club funded and helped build with a $5,000 grant.

The lab, called the AGUA (Aquaponics Generates Understanding and Achievement) Lab (and “agua” is the Spanish word for “water”), includes a fish hatchery and hydroponics tables where vegetables and herbs are grown using nutrients created by the fish and other aquatic creatures.

Students learn about the symbiotic nature of the relationship between fish and plants; STEM teachers David Cornn and Dr. Judy Wright planned the lab, which will benefit students in all grade levels at Canton ES STEM Academy.

Superintendent Dr. Frank Petruzielo and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Brian Hightower joined the Rotary Club of Canton for the tour, which included a ceremonial ribbon cutting. Principal Beth Long stated she is very excited about the learning opportunities the new lab presents for all of Canton’s students.

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Photo 1: Karoline Karl looks at the rows of plants growing on one of the hydroponics tables in the new AGUA Lab at Canton ES STEM Academy.
Photo 2: Rotarian and YMCA Director John Hicks, left, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Brian Hightower, and dentist Matt Phelps, right, discuss the aquaponics project with students Adonias Ambrocio-Vasquez, center, and Mirelle Dogini.
Photo 3: Rotarian and Realtor Becky Babcock, right, photographs the plants growing in the aquaponics lab at Canton ES STEM Academy, as students, from left, Mirelle Dogini, Adonias Ambrocio-Vasquez and Karoline Karl look on.
Photo 4: Students Litzy Yepez, foreground, and Kourtland Echols raise the top of the tables to show the nutrient-rich water the plants use instead of soil.
Photo 5: A tomato plant flourishes in the aquaponics lab.
Photo credits: Cherokee County School District