SUNY Morrisville to Study Challenges of Growing Fish and Vegetables Together

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — Growing fish and vegetables together is the latest collaboration among three SUNY Morrisville professors, thanks to a grant from the New York Farm Viability Institute.

The grant will enable SUNY Morrisville professors Elisa Livengood (aquaculture), Jennifer Gilbert Jenkins (agricultural science) and Adam Olinski (horticulture) to examine the feasibility of aquaculture and aquaponics protein production in community garden spaces.

Existing community gardens and urban garden producers are being solicited to participate in the feasibility study. For more information, contact Elisa Livengood at [email protected].

Aquaculture students harvest aquaponics-grown lettuces over paddlefish at the SUNY Morrisville Aquaculture Center. (Courtesy Photo)

Growing and providing a sustainable protein source is a challenge that faces many communities. Aquaculture and aquaponics can be a method of producing this needed source for them, according to Livengood.

“With this grant-supported work, we can better provide assistance for community and urban gardens that wish to expand their offerings to aquaponics or aquaculture, providing communities with a source of protein,” Livengood said.

The study will help to identify barriers, logistical challenges and critical components of the planning process for aquaculture adoption in community spaces.

The data will inform the development of a planning worksheet and a decision tree will provide potential producers the ability to assess the feasibility and scale of the aquaculture operation their logistics and site constraints allow.

“With these tools we also plan to combine that with better access to training through the development of aquaponics and aquaculture microcredentials for producers and community organizers,” Livengood said.

SUNY Morrisville’s curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.

The college was ranked among the Best Regional Colleges in the North by U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2023 issue and earned additional recognition in Top Public Schools Regional Colleges (North). For more information about SUNY Morrisville, visit www.morrisville.edu.

–SUNY Morrisville