By Dawn Walschinski – Kalihwisaks
It was in the dead of a record setting winter two years ago when Internal Services Director Joanie Buckley and Grants Writer Don Miller started working on an USDA Farm to School grant.
“When we first started to write the project, we had 40 days below zero. So we certainly don’t have the weather for us to have fresh vegetables and greens.” Said Buckley. “It was mechanism to go ahead at look at extending the (growing) season,” said Buckley.
Oneida is using the grant to build an aquaponics system next to the Oneida Veterans Building on County Road J. The Environmental Health and Safety department is currently constructing a greenhouse that will shelter the system that potentially will produce 6000 heads of lettuce and 800 pounds of tilapia fish a year. Project Manager Tony Kuchma along with Veterans Manager Kerry Metoxen attended training on running the new system.
“The fish are going to produce waste, that waste is nutrients, it’s fertilizer for the plants,” explained Kuchma. “The plants will remove the nutrients from the water, the water is recirculated back to the fish and it’s clean, and it’s a continuous loop.”
The lettuce produced by the aquaponics system will go to the Oneida Nation School System.
“The veterans will be in charge of running day to day operations. The kids will be coming out here, they will learn about the system, how it works, see where their food is coming from, and get some hands on … experiential learning,” said Kuchma.
There will be opportunities for community volunteers to help with the greenhouse.
“Anyone who sees the system up and running, it’s going to be an ‘aha’ moment, they’re going to get it, and we won’t have any shortage of people wanting to volunteer to pitch in, especially in January and February when it’s zero outside and 75 and warm and humid on the inside,” said Kuchma.
Eventually, the system could turn a profit and grow.
“I think there’s going to be room to expand and they could explore other opportunities be it Thornberry, the Radisson, or selling at the Oneida Market,” said Kuchma. “In the winter time, too, that hungry food gap when locally available produce is typically unavailable, it will be available and I think there will be a good market for it in the winter months.”
