Thank you, Aquaponics Community...

[Molly Stanek]

“One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage inflicted on land is quite invisible to laymen. An ecologist must either harden his shell and make believe that the consequences of science are none of his business, or he must be the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise.” 
― Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

 

I love Aldo Leopold.  I was introduced to his work early in my life.  My parents had an old battered paperback copy of A Sand County Almanac on their bookshelves nearly my whole childhood, and I remember the first time I read it finding it beautiful but not really accessible - I was probably 6 or 7.Later in school I rediscovered this masterpiece and my own personal copy is well worn and full of highlights, a good trusted friend with excellent advice.

 

The quote above used to make me feel so isolated.  It still does, on the days when I see so many of my fellow humans act so wastefully and carelessly - fracking, strip mining, clearing forests and prairies for more subdivisions, even simply tossing recyclables into the trash.  It's hard not to see evidence of all of this and not feel pessimistic, like Leopold so eloquently expresses.  

 

However, I have hope now.  A large portion of that hope is due to the fact that I feel like I have some actions to take to make the situation better.  I have discovered a 'magic key' - a way of farming food that doesn't gobble up soil, slurp down water, and burp up greenhouse gasses and pollute our waterways with its waste - aquaponics.

 

More importantly, I'm not the only person to discover this amazing healing tool!  We all have come to it from different paths but we're here, all together on this website.  Isn't that amazing?  The conference and the new Association are two more steps in the right direction towards sharing this discovery with the world and really making a positive change in the way we grow our food.  I'm so grateful to be sharing this journey with such amazing people.  

[Claudio J Tracchia]

What motivate us, my wife and I is not only seeing people carving there grave with there mouth  but one day we realize that every thing that we need we have to buy and I mean every thing, think of that! so we decide to change that, and we also have to thank all of you.

[Molly Stanek]

Raychel - I owe you a couple of inspirational blog posts, since your writing has always had the same effect on me! It was great to be able to thank you in person at the conference, but I'm glad that we are able to share positive energy here as well.  

Sahib -  the same to you...  the world needs more smiles and blessings. 

Sylvia - We're definitely on this journey together, sister... 

Kobus - My scientific background is in environmental biology with more of a terrestrial emphasis, but I honestly forget about that most of the time.  So many of the basic underlying concepts and principles employed by science are the same no matter what you're studying, and in the end nearly all of us are studying this planet no matter what label we give ourselves.  I think nature is our greatest teacher.  

[Raychel A Watkins]

You expressed it beautifully Molly.  Even though I knew I was not alone when I went to the conference I had no idea of the number of people who were out there doing magnificant things.  That is why this web site has come to mean so much to all of us.  When I feel like I am just a drop in the bucket and what I do will have no effect I come to this site and I read a few posts and my spirit soars.  If each one on this site does just a little we will make the difference the world so despartely needs.  Just this morning my son in law called me from my house(I am at work) he put a lady on the phone who had come by my house.  She is teaching 12 4H children and wants to have them get involved with learning something about aquaponics.  I about started shouting.  What I do does make a difference.  Thanks Molly for writing this blod.  It lifted my spirits even higher

[Sahib Punjabi]

:-)

 

God bless,

[Sylvia Bernstein]

Beautiful, profound thoughts, Molly.  Thanks for sharing them.  I feel the same way.

[Kobus Jooste]

Welcome to the joy of aquaponics, fellow ecologist!  Terrestrial or aquatic training?  I turned to aquaponics during a two year search for sustainable water use solutions to fresh water aquaculture here in South Africa.