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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pittsburgh, PA – In partnership with several local organizations, including Meta Mesh Wireless Communities and Seed Aquaponics, LLC, DECO Resources, LLC [DECO] has been working on initiatives to develop community-scale green infrastructure solutions. Established in 2013, DECO is a Pittsburgh-based company whose mission is to incorporate sustainability into the design, engineering, construction, and operations of a project. DECO has demonstrated success using aquaponics as a solution to address a variety of environmental and social challenges, including stormwater management, access to food, and education on technology, renewable energy, and reused materials.
Our aquaponics system stores rainwater and uses solar energy to pump the water through a media bed filter that allows plants to absorb excess nutrients. The plants can be decorative or edible, from herbs to vegetables. Fish are used in the water to provide nutrients for the plants and eat mosquito larvae. The solar power also runs a PittMesh node, developed by Meta Mesh, which provides off-grid wireless access to the Internet for any WiFi device. In addition, our team is working to collect environmental data on the water and air quality.
These hubs are designed for the urban environment where there may not be land suitable for infiltrating rainwater or growing food due to contaminated soil. Being mostly automated, the operator only has to manage the growth of the plants and feeding the fish. The system provides an excellent educational opportunity and the DECO team has worked with local schools and libraries to give youth experience operating the system and learning about the different components.
For more information, please visit our site at deco-resources.com. Read our recent post “Millvale and Rainwater” for more information on aquaponics and watch our film on the project “Pairing Community Driven Solar Powered Aquaponics with Public WiFi,” produced by Ryan Haggerty of Haggerty Media.
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