What an abundance of resources and potential collaborations we have in our region! The South Bend community is making its mark as a place where initiatives in sustainability and entrepreneurship are flourishing. Our local colleges and universities, the Center for a Sustainable Future, Unity Gardens, EnFocus, the Purple Porch Cooperative, and so many others are advocating for a more resilient, stronger community, and we are proud to join ranks with them. And the agencies here taking the lead to advocate for those with disabilities -- Logan Center and Hannah and Friends -- have provided tremendous support and guidance to help Green Bridge Growers launch.
An exciting first step for our venture, done in collaboration with Hannah and Friends, is building a prototype aquaponics system on their grounds. We'll teach the residents, campers, and day program participants to maintain the system on a daily basis, and Green Bridge Growers will use this greenhouse for training and educational purposes. Our team met recently at Hannah and Friends with Wes, their facilities manager extraordinaire, to plan, size, and configure our prototype.
We checked into heating options and where to situate the greenhouse for maximum light.....
Our engineers Tom and Anthony took measurements to size our greenhouse...
And our happy team celebrated a good afternoon's work!
Wes' can-do attitude was fantastic throughout the visit. "When can we break ground?!?" As a farmer himself and just about the handiest person around, we're happy to have another great partner with such enthusiasm and know-how.
Our system planning is nearly complete and, like Wes, our team can't wait to break ground next month!