Becky Bainbridge - Aquaponics UK

From Scotland via Wakefield to Africa… Aquaponics can make a huge difference to many people’s lives, in Africa providing a sustainable source of food, while in the UK it could be a potential growth area for jobs.

A future in aquauclture

“I’d like to continue working with Aquaponics UK and helping aquaponics develop into a mainstream farming technique with a system in every city and every school. I would definitely encourage people to start a career in sustainable aquaculture and aquaponics as I think it’s going to become increasingly important as a sector."

 

Twenty-four-year-old Becky Bainbridge is a great advocate for aquaponics and one of our former Scottish Land-based Learners of the Year - a competition that we run to celebrate the skills of those working in the land-based and environmental industries.

“A huge increase in interest around sustainable agriculture and aquaculture, particularly in an urban context, has elevated the aquaponics sector from a hobby scale to a solution for feeding whole cities from warehouses, city farms and disused buildings,” she says.

Becky would like to see more classes and courses in aquaponics, starting at school level, because she has seen first hand the exciting results.

Aquaponics is the integration of aquaculture and hydroponics - creating a beneficial ‘closed loop’ where fish waste feeds plants, water is continuously recycled and off-cuts from plants are composted to produce worms to feed to the fish. The system provides succulent fruit and vegetable crops as well as fish to eat or enjoy. (Basically, the plants replace a standard filtration system for the fish tanks.)

Becky is director of research and development at Aquaponics UK, a non profit making organisation formed in Scotland and developed in partnership with the Institute of Aquaculture at the University of Stirling. Aquaponics UK’s ambition is to promote training in the sector, and the use of materials and methods generating minimal impact both socially and environmentally.

She already had a first class honours degree in Zoology from the University of Nottingham before gaining a Masters with distinction in Sustainable Aquaculture at Stirling.

Becky became interested in ‘the potentially huge role for aquaculture in solving several global issues such as poverty, malnutrition, resource depletion and so on, but also the potential environmental consequences of such a rapid increase in the sector if it is not executed sustainably’.

“Working for a small social enterprise I need to have a diverse range of skills. These range from a general understanding of biology and chemistry, fish husbandry, system engineering and use of software, to more practical skills such as plumbing and being handy with power tools! I also need to develop strong customer relations and aid in the general running of the company using web and computer skills,” she says. “In future I would like to develop my horticultural skills as well as learning more about business development.”

Becky’s Masters thesis on lifecycle assessment involved setting up three greenhouses for The ABLE Project, a charity that provides training and rehabilitation for disadvantaged school children, on a former landfill site in Wakefield.

“I spent three months sleeping in a hammock in the first greenhouse while we built the system with the children, aged 12 to 16, giving them skills not just in aquaculture and horticulture but also joinery, plumbing and teamwork. It was very rewarding seeing how they developed and the interest they took in the science and aquaculture when they felt they had some ownership over the system.”

Becky was also involved in setting up a low-tech system in Kenya: “Using only locally sourced materials we built systems that used little or no electricity but could provide a source of protein and vegetables for families at very low expense.”

Her university studies put her in touch with like-minded students from all over the world, and introduced Becky to her mentors, dedicated Aquaponics UK Founder Charlie Price, and Dr Rene Haller, director of the Baobab Trust, which runs the Kenyan project. Haller has carried out more than 50 years’ research into sustainable integrated farming and transformed a barren, disused quarry on the Kenyan coast into a hugely productive multi-level farming system and tourist attraction.

Becky is certain, and determined, that aquaponics will develop in the decades to come.

“Interest does not come just from farmers and the agricultural industry, but also architects, designers, town planners and the general public. This comes with the widespread realisation that we cannot continue to consume finite resources at the current rate and that waste in itself is a resource for constant re-use,” she explains.

“When it comes to training for the aquaculture industry, there needs to be more of a middle ground between the mainly theoretical university courses and the more practical courses offered by agricultural colleges. More work experience, where you are thrown in at the deep end, would greatly help graduates starting employment. I would also like to see a greater emphasis on sustainability in training and the development of curriculums for sustainable food production for schools and higher education. Lantra could help promote the sector and act as a mediator between those involved in technical development and the skills and education system.”

For Becky, the rewards are obvious: “I most enjoy seeing and helping make designs I have created on paper come to fruition - the way they fit into a particular project, farm or community to reduce environmental footprint, provide employment and skills and promote self sufficiency.”

Her own plans are clear.

“I’d like to continue working with Aquaponics UK and helping aquaponics develop into a mainstream farming technique with a system in every city and every school. I would definitely encourage people to start a career in sustainable aquaculture and aquaponics as I think it’s going to become increasingly important as a sector.

“First volunteer or even set up a local urban farm or allotment, determine which part you enjoy, where your current skills fit and what skills you would like to develop before specialising in a particular aspect. Getting stuck in and doing it is a great way to learn about aquaponics and this can be on a very small scale, in your back garden or even on your desk - with a small aquarium and a yoghurt pot growing herbs….!”