UPDATE: STRETCH GOAL! Since we still have one day left in our campaign, we have decided to launch a stretch goal to digitize our curriculum into short educational videos to accompany our written programs. If we reach $20,000, we will create these videos and share them with all of the classrooms using the Microfarm.
The Springworks Team has been building aquaponic systems for the past 7 years. Our mission is to improve sustainable agriculture and make it accessible to everyone. We now operate one of the largest commercial aquaponics system in the United States and are excited to bring you the Microfarm! This easy to use aquaponic system goes right on top of a 10 gallon aquarium to bring you fresh organic produce all year around: there is no need to change the water or clean the tank regularly. There is also no weeding, worrying about watering, or fertilizing. Simply feed your fish twice per day, plant seeds, and harvest your plants!
We are passionate about using aquaponics
as a hands on learning tool so we designed school curricula for different age
groups and teamed up with a nonprofit, Cultivating Action, who places aquaponic
systems in schools. Half of the profits from this campaign will be used to
introduce aquaponic systems into schools all around the country. You can also
donate a Microfarm directly to a school or let us place one for you.
What Our Microfarmers Have to Say:
Bob P. “ Setting up my system was very easy. I am excited to have greens readily available in my own home!"
Jayme S. " It is incredible how both elementary school students and high schoolers can be so invested in the system. Whether it is learning the basics of the processes that make the Microfarm work or experimenting with altering inputs and measuring ouputs, students are constantly collecting and analyzing data."
Jeffrey K. “ We are having so much fun with our Microfarm. Our veggies are growing like crazy and it smells good too! ”
How Does The Microfarm Work?
The Microfarm uses aquaponics to provide a simple, productive, and easy to use indoor garden. Aquaponics combines fish and plants in a recirculating system where fish waste is pumped up into the grow bed, broken down by bacteria and used by the plants to grow. This cycle keeps the water clean and provides organic fertilizer to plants. Our system uses 90% less water and less space compared to traditional farming- ultimately producing more with less.
Easy Set up
The Microfarm is very easy to set up and run!
Our Story
Springworks was started after years of growing aquaponically. In fact, our founder started out of his garage with money from a summer job. However, the systems continued to grow and soon enough Trevor had enough produce to not only feed his family, but sell to a local restaurant. After taking a year and a half off of school because of a bad head injury sustained from high school football, our founder was determined to make a positive impact on the world around him. Using prototypes in Montana to gather data, a business plan was created to grow vegetables commercially all year round in Maine and produce the Microfarm. Financial partners were found in the Spring of 2014 and we broke ground on our commercial greenhouse that fall. We now operate one of the largest commercial aquaponic greenhouses in the country and the first to be certified organic from Maine to Chicago. Springworks is passionate about not only producing healthy, organic, and sustainably produced food but also helping others enjoy the benefits of growing some of their own meals.
Cultivating Action
The Microfarm is a great way to introduce and demonstrate a wide range of curriculum and get students invested and excited about learning. This campaign was created to help integrate aquaponic curriculum and systems into schools. Springworks partnered with Cultivating Action whose mission is to build community around environmental solutions and expand environmental education. They have been placing Microfarms in schools for over 6 months. The Microfarm gives students the chance to interact with real life processes, gaining STEM skills in a hands-on way. Our partnership gives students a glimpse into the intricate chemical and biological life supporting systems that we all depend on- from photosynthesis to nutrient cycling. By backing this campaign you will help Cultivating Action continue to place Microfarms in classrooms and ultimately instill a love of learning to empower next-generation leaders.
Microfarms in Schools Now
We have Microfarms in schools all over New England. Teachers love the way students engage with the systems, especially students who have a harder time concentrating and learning from traditional teaching styles. Jayme Seheult, a science teacher at the Brunswick Junior High School says it best, “The Microfarm has empowered my students- my students have become Biologists and Ecologists and Chemists, because they believe they are…My role has become that of a guide, because in their excitement, my students have taken ownership of their learning as they lead discussions and ask questions (and research the answers) of depth and magnitude that promote inductive and deductive reasoning”
"The Microfarm encourages evaluative thinking operations of my students. We have moved away from bookwork, worksheets, rote memorization, and rhetorical questions to hands-on labs and real life applications and problem solving of science content.” - Science Teacher at Brunswick Maine Middle School
Why Springworks?
Agriculture is the largest contributor to environmental degradation in the world. It is the largest contributor to greenhouse gases, uses 80% of our water, and significantly impacts native habitats through chemical use and habitat destruction. Sustainable agriculture is vital for the future of our global community and our mission at Springworks is to help make that shift a reality.
More About The Farm
The Farm is located on 168 acres of pristine Maine land. We will be creating test plots for other sustainable agriculture techniques alongside our commercial aquaponics system, such as forest gardening, in the future.
The local community is excited to see aquaponics in action!
The Springworks Farm Stand provides the local and tourist communities of Southern Maine with fresh produce from several surrounding farmers, including our own delicious and top selling lettuce mix.