CCHRC is collaborating with the Space Farming Institute in Anchorage to explore the relationship between indoor agriculture, energy, and indoor air quality. The Space Farming Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to training the agronauts of tomorrow while solving childhood hunger today. As such, their work lies at the intersection of food, soil, water, climate, green technology, sustainable agriculture, bio-fuels, and space exploration. Activities all involve students in the Anchorage School District.
CCHRC staff are helping students quantify the energy use of different indoor growing systems, and how that cost compares to buying fresh produce. In the future, we will be collaborating to explore which vegetables can help ensure healthy indoor air quality, how growing systems can contribute to appropriate indoor relative humidity, and how best to design a growing system to fit within different types of arctic homes.
(Photo credit Lorrie Irwin, Space Farming Institute.)