Save the locals from depopulation by land cultivation!To the spread of high school students, realization of commercialization, Otsu Midoriyo High School, to spread the Aqua Ponix

Why do high school students research and develop "aquaponics"?

In 2017, an extracurricular activity called "Otsu STEAM Project" started in the general course of Yamaguchi Prefectural Otsu Ryokuyo High School. The aim is to contribute to the development of sustainable communities and the achievement of the SDGs through its own land-based aquaculture.

Nagato City, where the school is located, has problems such as the aging of fishermen, a decrease in catches, and a decrease in population. Professor Masayoshi Yamamoto, Department of Electrical Engineering, Nagoya University Graduate School of Engineering, helped the students who wanted to do something about their depopulated area.

It was the beginning of the exchange when I was asked for advice after giving a lecture, but it was decided to develop a project and proceed with collaborative research. He says that he continues to cooperate with the project because he wants young high school students to have hope regardless of where they live.

Third-year students from Otsu Ryokuyo High School giving a presentation at Nagoya University ponics". It is a “21st-century food production system” that combines fish farming and plant cultivation on land.

Microorganisms decompose ammonia contained in fish droppings in aquariums, plants absorb it as nutrients, and purify water. And it is characterized by a recycling system that uses the water again as breeding water. Ayaka Ikitsuki, a teacher who supports the students, looks back on how she came to see this sustainable system as follows.

"It's not just Nagato City that fish catches are declining due to rising sea surface temperatures due to global warming. There are predictions that the world's population will increase and food shortages will occur in the future.Students While researching the current situation, we realized that the decline of the fishing industry is a global issue.Then, by combining Nagato City's fishing know-how and technology, we can not only contribute to the local community, but also solve the world's food problem. That's why I arrived at aquaponics."

Aquaponics is a food production system that is expected to produce fish and vegetables even in places where there is no sea.

Therefore, the students applied the cooling technology of the power electronics laboratory, explored a cooling method that does not rely on electric power using semiconductors, and made their own cooling device. With the advice of Professor Yoshihisa Yamamoto of the Fisheries University, who studies land-based aquaculture systems, he perfected his own aquaponics by adopting filtration using bacteria.

An image of aquaponics created by the Otsu STEAM project by students making their own cooling devices. Ammonia contained in fish droppings and leftover food is decomposed by bacteria and the breeding water is poured into the plant planter → The plants grow by absorbing the breeding water with their roots → The water purified by the plants is cooled and returned to the tank. According to the students, this is a "small earth" that reproduces the mechanism of nature

As a result, in 2020, they succeeded in harvesting vegetables and raising rainbow trout at the same time. Researchers at the Yamaguchi Prefectural Fisheries Research Center were also surprised by the production of salmon roe. Currently, the breeding of 5 rainbow trout and 5 tiger puffer fish representing Yamaguchi Prefecture is progressing smoothly.

Raised rainbow trout (upper left), produced salmon roe (upper right), raised tiger puffer (lower right), successful production of vegetables (lower left) >

It's full-scale research and development, but the members who move the project are all normal course students. Initially, there were about three students, but the number of interested students increased year by year, and in 2021 there were 45 in total. ``Everyone is very interested in contributing to the community and solving social issues, and many of them see activities as activities for the future, such as ``solving global warming'' or ``wanting to save children in poverty,'' says teacher Ikutsuki. speaks.

Aquaponics is in the warehouse inside the school building. The team is divided into science (cooling), farming (vegetables, water quality system research, culture), and business (crowdfunding, patents), and shares the status at weekly general meetings. there is

Specifically, what kind of activities do you do? Naoki Yasuoka, a third-year high school student who leads the science team, is a contributor to system development. I have been interested in cooling and IoT (Internet of Things) since I was a junior high school student, making my own simple cooler, so I said, "I want to make a cooling device." It is surprising that they actually created a low-cost cooling device by combining inexpensive commercially available equipment, even with the advice of the power electronics laboratory.

Furthermore, we introduced a “Raspberry Pi” and built a remote monitoring system for the aquarium. It is now possible to monitor water temperature, humidity, and temperature using smartphones, etc., making it very easy to keep fish.

* A single board computer developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation in the UK for educational purposes. Equipped with a minimum of elements on a single electronic board

A remote monitoring system for aquariums developed by Mr. Yasuoka

Rina Yamada, a second-year high school student who belongs to the farming team, is in charge of water quality system research. She's experimenting with filtering water cleanly with bacteria to see at what stage the filtration progresses. “The issue is whether the current filtration system will work properly when the aquarium is enlarged. We will solve this problem, succeed in mass cultivation of vegetables, raise awareness of aquaponics, and feed it to many people. I want to have it," he said with a vision.

The project has also been a valuable experience. “I think I have developed the ability to plan and take action. The fact that I was accepted to university through the comprehensive selection process was largely due to the interest in this activity,” says Mr. Yasuoka.

Mr. Yamada also said, "The project is a valuable place where we can discover problems on our own, come up with solutions, and learn things from a multifaceted perspective. I aspire to work in the medical field, but the ability to work together is also required. I feel that I have learned a lot.I gained confidence through a wide range of experiences that I could not have learned in class alone, such as experiments and presentations to elementary school students in the city."

Mr. Yamada (photo left) introducing aquaponics to elementary school students in the city

"The research activities of the project have a high educational effect, and someday I would like to return them to some kind of class, such as time for comprehensive research," said Mr. Ikitsuki. thinking.

Companies also support, aiming for venture with a diverse team

The power of several local companies is also a big reason for the success. Mr. Takehiro Fukai, the representative of Koken, who undertakes sheet metal processing, cooperates in the creation of the original water tank. Mr. Fukai, who is also involved in activities to revive the disappearing specialty products, expects, "In the future, we will be able to revitalize the area in cooperation with aquaponics technology."

Jun Shiraishi of Kiraku, which sells puffer fish, made a U-turn four years ago and was personally involved in another project with the students, but from now on he will cooperate with the company in raising puffer fish. It is said that “I want to support the high school students who are working hard for Nagato City, and I want to create as many friends as possible to support the local community,” says Shiraishi.

Teacher Takayuki Iwamoto, who has supported the project by connecting various parties, emphasizes, "Our strength lies in the creation of a highly diverse team." In order to make the most of this soil, we are currently discussing the possibility of creating a venture centered on Professor Masayoshi Yamamoto of Nagoya University.

"We think that we can launch a new business from the flexible ideas of high school students who value their hometown.The success here may be a case study for areas suffering from population decline.Education From the perspective of a model, we will promote a new high school-university collaboration with an exit that can be applied to effective business and presented at academic conferences." (Professor Masayoshi Yamamoto)

Professor Yoshihisa Yamamoto of Fisheries University also has great expectations.

“While freshwater fish such as tilapia are the mainstream of aquaponics farming in Japan and overseas, the students are dealing with saltwater fish that are in high domestic demand and can be expanded overseas. As we continue to explore more and more, we will likely see an increase in the variety of vegetables that can be expected to have high added value, such as endangered species.We have created flexible ideas and a powerful trial system that cannot be imitated by companies and universities. I think that the potential for transformation is extremely high.” (Professor Yoshihisa Yamamoto)

So far, the cost has been covered by subsidies from Nagato City and funds from related parties, but due to the expansion of the organization, crowdfunding will be implemented at the end of 2021. Since 3,367,000 yen was collected, exceeding the target of 2 million yen, we will expand facilities and open a website.

However, there are many problems. Professor Yoshihisa Yamamoto points out, "In order to create a venture company that materializes research, it is necessary to gather human resources and funds. Therefore, it is urgent to train leaders who can tell the story of the entire project."

Third-year students are expected to take charge of this. Many students want to be involved in projects after graduation, and even if they leave their hometowns, they want to come back.

Mr. Yasuoka also said, "We aim to achieve sixth industrialization by adding value with DX (Digital Transformation) by realizing low-cost cooling and automatic feeding systems that do not use electricity, remote temperature control, etc. ', he says. To that end, he wants to strengthen the collaboration between high school students and themselves, who are university students, and make it a more independent organization.

The "Otsu STEAM Project" has developed into research activities and has begun to move toward social implementation. A new high school-university collaboration led by young people is likely to be the key to the future.

(text: Akiko Sakai, photos and illustrations: courtesy of Yamaguchi Prefectural Otsu Ryokuyo High School)

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