A team of agriculture students at Northwest Missouri State University under the leadership of Associate Professor Jamie Patton worked this spring to create a special hydroponic garden to be installed at Mozingo Lake.
Hydroponics, a form of agriculture in which plants are grown in nutrient-enriched water instead of soil, has been around a while, so what's so special about this particular project? The heart behind it.
The garden is to stand on a raised platform that makes it accessible to people whose disabilities tie them to a wheelchair or otherwise limit their mobility.
Patton, a soils scientist who has made a speciality out of high-tech farming methods, came up with the idea of creating a handicap-accessible hydroponic garden for the university's Mozingo Outdoor Education Recreation Area (MOERA) after talking with with fellow faculty members Jon Gustafson and Terry Robertson, both of whom teach in the Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
Except for the platform, the "enabled" garden works much like similar cultivation environments built by university horticulture students in past years. A network of perforated plastic pipes runs across the top of the platform. These pipes contain the nutrient solution, and the plants are inserted roots-down into the perforations.
"By raising the garden up, those in wheelchairs, or those just not able to get on the ground, will be able to participate in garden activities and smell the flowers," Patton said.
The real trick in designing the garden was to come up with an inexpensive way to power a pump needed to continually recirculate the nutrient mixture through the pipes.
Enter recent Northwest graduate Clint Gesling, a Centralia native who completed a bachelor's degree in agricultural business from Northwest last month.
Gesling realized that the near-constant breeze off Mozingo Lake would be sufficient to recharge batteries powerful enough to run the pump. He then used his mechanical and welding skills to fabricate a small wind turbine. The structure is about eight feet tall and was built using $20 in materials.
"We are giving materials new life as energy producers," Gesling said. "I built this portion of the project out of scraps and used treadmill motors as generators."
Patton said she was impressed with Gesling’s ability to take an idea and transform it from concept into reality.
"I simply mentioned we were thinking of building an accessible hydroponic garden, and the rest is his design and creativity," she said. "He not only has the electrical, engineering and agronomic skills to make the project a success, but also the desire to give back to the Northwest and Maryville communities."
Gesling said last week that cool, wet weather and the onset of finals week kept the garden platform from being installed at Mozingo before the end of the spring term. He said there are plans to move forward with the project during the current growing season as soon as weather permits.
Patton said she hopes the project can eventually be expanded to include multiple gardens mounted on trailers than can be transported to nursing homes and schools.
"We want to help people access healthy, nutritious foods; improve their quality of life; and introduce a new generation to how food is created," she said. "We hope that this year is just the beginning."
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Hydroponics, a form of agriculture in which plants are grown in nutrient-enriched water instead of soil, has been around a while, so what's so special about this particular project? The heart behind it.
Jamie Patton, left, an associate professor of soil science at Northwest Missouri State University, and recent graduate Clint Gesling, display a wind turbine rotor Gesling built as part of an electricity-generating unit designed to power the water pump of a hydroponic garden for the university's Mozingo Outdoor Education Recreation Area east of Maryville.
The garden is to stand on a raised platform that makes it accessible to people whose disabilities tie them to a wheelchair or otherwise limit their mobility.
Patton, a soils scientist who has made a speciality out of high-tech farming methods, came up with the idea of creating a handicap-accessible hydroponic garden for the university's Mozingo Outdoor Education Recreation Area (MOERA) after talking with with fellow faculty members Jon Gustafson and Terry Robertson, both of whom teach in the Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
Except for the platform, the "enabled" garden works much like similar cultivation environments built by university horticulture students in past years. A network of perforated plastic pipes runs across the top of the platform. These pipes contain the nutrient solution, and the plants are inserted roots-down into the perforations.
"By raising the garden up, those in wheelchairs, or those just not able to get on the ground, will be able to participate in garden activities and smell the flowers," Patton said.
The real trick in designing the garden was to come up with an inexpensive way to power a pump needed to continually recirculate the nutrient mixture through the pipes.
Enter recent Northwest graduate Clint Gesling, a Centralia native who completed a bachelor's degree in agricultural business from Northwest last month.
Gesling realized that the near-constant breeze off Mozingo Lake would be sufficient to recharge batteries powerful enough to run the pump. He then used his mechanical and welding skills to fabricate a small wind turbine. The structure is about eight feet tall and was built using $20 in materials.
"We are giving materials new life as energy producers," Gesling said. "I built this portion of the project out of scraps and used treadmill motors as generators."
Patton said she was impressed with Gesling’s ability to take an idea and transform it from concept into reality.
"I simply mentioned we were thinking of building an accessible hydroponic garden, and the rest is his design and creativity," she said. "He not only has the electrical, engineering and agronomic skills to make the project a success, but also the desire to give back to the Northwest and Maryville communities."
Gesling said last week that cool, wet weather and the onset of finals week kept the garden platform from being installed at Mozingo before the end of the spring term. He said there are plans to move forward with the project during the current growing season as soon as weather permits.
Patton said she hopes the project can eventually be expanded to include multiple gardens mounted on trailers than can be transported to nursing homes and schools.
"We want to help people access healthy, nutritious foods; improve their quality of life; and introduce a new generation to how food is created," she said. "We hope that this year is just the beginning."
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