Ive been interested in aquaponics for a few years now. I’m an advocate for environmental and urban sustainability and think aquaponics has an important role to play in our future cities. For me and many other aquaponic practitioners it is about much more than the production of food. It is about moving towards a truly sustainable global society, restructuring global institutions, influencing policy, reducing waste streams, citizen engagement, reducing resource and energy consumption, preserving biodiversity, developing new technologies and easing the pressure on our overfished seas.

Biodiversity loss due to unsustainable trawler fishing in our oceans means that is it more important than ever to find an alternative food supply for our planets ever growing population, we simply cannot continue this destructive practice.

As a new comer to the group i bring a variety of skills, i have often been referred to as a polymath – which i interpret to mean ‘a lover of many but a master of none’! I’m a bit of a tech nerd and i’m working on programming custom raspberry pi sensors (using NODE RED) to monitor a variety of chemicals within the system which will relay realtime stats, flagging up any fluctuations and allowing us to regulate the system more readily. I am also a trainee web developer and digital marketer and manage the websites and social media, yes, i’m the one that tweets the pictures of cats.

As a fluctuating vegetarian/vegan/pescatarian i approach the project with a goal of ushering humanity towards more compassionate and conscious consumption of resources. I think that taking practical steps to change deeply engrained human behaviours (blind consumption of animals, destructive agricultural practices) has a greater utilitarian benefit than my individual dietary choices. I am keen to involve vegan and vegetarian activists with open and fluid conversation and would love to hear from anyone with an opinion on the matter!

I’ve been involved in numerous projects over the years, I was Project Manager for the design and creation of a traveling exhibition which was featured on a BBC’s Antique Roadshow in 2014. I have created & coordinated events in collaboration with digital artists, photographers, cinematographers, artists, producers and sound designers and exhibited to over 3,000 international guests. I also have experience in report writing and gaining funding, as a co-author of the Cleveland Pools Feasibility Report I helped to secure a £366,200 development grant with earmarked funding of £4.1m.

—Im off to do a Permaculture course in the Pyrenees—

See you in July!