Curriculum for Inka Sun Curve project

From OER Commons Wiki

A closed circuit aquaponics system similar to the Inka Sun Curve project, offers students the opportunity to interact with a working model simulating some of Earth's systems and cycles.

Use of an aquaponics system in a school offers multiple opportunities to connect with class curriculums. In a high school Earth Science course, state standards specify topics that must be covered. In the California Earth Science Content Standards for Grades Nine Through Twelve, we find the following concepts:

STANDARD SET 4. Energy in the Earth System (Solar Energy Enters, Heat Escapes)

STANDARD SET 5. Energy in the Earth System (Ocean and Atmospheric Convection)

STANDARD SET 6. Energy in the Earth System (Climate and Weather) includes study of the water (hydrologic) cycle

STANDARD SET 7. Biogeochemical Cycles - Matter moves through biological cycles and physical processes and can be stored in reservoirs, and the movement of matter is driven by Earth’s internal and external sources of energy. Includes the carbon cycle of photosynthesis and respiration and the nitrogen cycle.

STANDARD SET 8. Structure and Composition of the Atmosphere

A model such as this requires substantial investment in time and commitment. The only way an aquaponic system could justify a semi-permanent installation in a school, is for teachers to be able to return to it over and over during the course of the school year to demonstrate ways the system mimics Earth systems. I believe this is possible within the earth Science curriculum. There are also possibilities in other sciences.

I believe that a vertical garden system offers an advantage over ground based gardens as it is much easier for students to see all of the components of the system and therefore follow the flow of matter and energy.