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John Lark
and the school’s aquaculture facility |
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John
talks about marketing the produce |
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KI Aquaculture Skills Centre
KI Community Education, Parndana Campus
Phone: (08) 8559 6068 or contact Jon Lark on 0427 003 421
Email: jon.lark@kice.sa.edu.au
Barramundi is rated as one of Australia’s
best eating fish – and cafes and restaurants on Kangaroo
Island are tapping into an unlikely source for this highly valued
product. School students at the Parndana campus of KI Community
Education have helped establish a groundbreaking aquaculture project,
KI Aquaculture Skills Centre, producing fresh and smoked barramundi.
Local eateries are queuing up for the top quality
product and a new aquaponics initiative developed by the students
has even captured the interest of commercial fish farmers. Waste
water from the fish farm is being recycled and used to grow herbs
and vegetables, creating a second revenue stream in a development
that could benefit industry. Plants naturally filter the waste
water, which is high in nutrients, allowing it to be returned
to the fish farm.
It’s an exciting initiative which started
two years ago when the skills centre won a $10,000 Environmentally
Sustainable Development Grant from the Department of Education
and Children’s Services to further its water conservation
measures. This has been followed with recent support from the
Federal Government’s Community Water Grant program which
will result in the water being used three times – first
for the fish, then aquaponics and finally to flush the school’s
toilets.
Managed by aquaculture professional Jon Lark, the
skills centre has been integrated into all areas of the school’s
curriculum from reception to year 12. Students are given an insight
into the many aspects of running a fledgling primary production
facility, with the project used as a teaching tool in areas such
as maths, science, biology, chemistry, technical studies, marketing
and home economics.
Visitors to Kangaroo Island are able to taste the
results of their efforts at various local restaurants.
Parndana, the “Place of little
gums”, is the hub for the heartland of Kangaroo Island.
The Kangaroo Island Skills
Centre at Kangaroo Island Community Educations Parndana Campus
is a state of the art aquaculture training facility. Students
have recently gained a grant to develop Aquaponics, using the
facilities wastewater to grow herbs, lettuce, Asian greens and
ornamental reed plants.
Numerous vineyards supply the Islands burgeoning
wine industry, with Cape
D’Estaing located near Emu Bay.
Green Lip Abalone, farmed at Smith Bay by
KIAB, is now exported overseas
and are at the cutting edge of the industry.
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