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There are about half a dozen fish living inside this new aquaponics system built by the students at Sadie Vernon Technical High school. The unusual project first came about from a letter writing class with their English teacher.

Malaak Middleton, English Teacher:
"There were six business houses we targeted, and we group the students into groups. But first I had to go over the parts of that letter with them. We had to walk towards making sure that they know what the tone of the message is and what to put in that letter, and then we got them started on that."

"We decided to do an aquaponics system just to get the children more involved with plants. So I wanted to find a way - because I teach them English - I wanted to find a way how I can bring a little bit of agriculture into the school setting. So when we came upon our formal letter writing we decided to use that as the vehicle to engage students in writing and also having a physical aspect to, a little production that they can see how they can possibly open their own small business and bring it to their communities at the end, right? So that's why we chose to do this aquaponics and we chose to open this small greenhouse."

The Principal was fully supportive of the idea, and felt that it was a hands-on way to get the students to learn more about sustainable practices that help the environment.

Deborah Martin, Principal, Sadie Vernon Technical High School:
"It's definitely helping to improve our brand at Sadie Vernon technical High school and of course the quality of education. We are teaching them to focus on sustainable development and working along with their community because as their teacher said a while ago the aquaponics is embedded in the idea of providing things for yourself and then eventually sharing it with your community, so definitely it goes outside what the curriculum would say would be a normal curriculum for an academic based school to teach them how to function in the real world and survive in the real world."

"I tell Miss I go to the back there and I peep at the fish through the door because we have it locked to protect from people coming in to take stuff and I like the whole idea, the trees are there growing the plants are there growing and then the stones help, I can't give the scientific breakdown as to how the whole system works but it is just wonderful based on how Ms shared it and how it is set up there, how the water, the waste goes back to the tilapia fishes in there and they survive."

A handful of students had worked on the system during their Easter break, and one of them told us how the system works to keep both the plants and fish alive.

Joseline Sanchez, 2B2 Student, Sadie Vernon Tech:
"We came me and my classmates we gathered and then we started building the form of the aquaponics pond and we started mixing the cement we let it dry and then the other day we came and we started to do the frame, we started to do the netting and everything, we replaced the tank and everything in the aquaponics pond and that's how it came out."

"You see there is many things about an aquaponics but what I learned the waste from the fish leads from one tube into the motor then there is another pipe that leads to the barrel that funnels the water then the water goes to the stones, the stones release waste and that's where the plants feed on and then its a cycle that goes on and on and from the plants we can feed off and the fishes as well."

A lesson in science, teamwork and community survival whose lessons extend far beyond this drum.