In the ‘Shark Tank’

For 30 ninth-graders at the Mid-Pacific Institute in Manoa, Earth Day holds significant meaning this year.

That’s because for the past 12 months, they have been making sustainability a part of their everyday learning experience.

The students, who are enrolled in Mid-Pacific High School’s eXploratory program, are combining science with creativity and business smarts by designing, building and marketing tabletop aquaponics systems.

Aquaponics, a sustainable food production system combining aquaculture with hydroponics, is a fast-growing trend in backyards across the U.S. It’s basically a closed-loop ecosystem in which fish waste in a tank fertilizes plants, which in turn help clean water for the fish.

"Sustainability has been the theme the entire year," said team leader and teacher Raleigh Werberger. "The goal is to practice good design and aesthetics and market it to a general audience. We wanted something that spoke to them personally."

Mid-Pacific eXploratory is an interdisciplinary program at the high school featuring project-based learning and real-world problem solving.

As a culmination of their project, the students, divided into six teams of five, will be pitching their tabletop aquaponics systems, "Shark Tank" style, to a panel of three local entrepreneurs at the Hono­lulu Maker Space in Kakaako this evening. The evening is modeled after the ABC reality show in which aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their products or ideas to a panel of real-life investors for a shot at a business deal that could make them a millionaire.

The panel includes Mark Loughridge, chairman of Backbone Entertainment, which develops educational video-game software for Disney; Steve Sue, CEO of Lemonade Alley; and Rechung Fujihira, co-founder of Blue Startups.

The winning project will be funded by entrepreneurs and possibly brought to market with a Kickstarter campaign.

Earlier this year the students took a field trip to the Matson docks to see firsthand the volume of consumer goods shipped to Hawaii as well as the city’s HPOWER plant to learn what happens to consumer waste.

They also took a tour of the aquaponics farm at Mari’s Gardens in Mililani to see how the technology works on a large scale.

To learn basic carpentry and design skills, students spent three weeks building worm composting bins.

Werberger said sustainability is an issue that he and many other teachers are passionate about — and thus, passionate about teaching.

Besides using geometry and math to build their systems, students also learned about ecology, design, marketing, public speaking and entrepreneurism.

Sustainability and entrepreneurism go hand in hand in today’s world, according to Kamil Schuetz of Prospect Consult LLC, who came up with the tabletop aquaponics concept for the class.

"I think sustainability, as it is, is a whole industry unto itself," said Schuetz, a Hono­lulu-based entrepreneur who will host tonight’s event. "You can either build a business around sustainability in whatever market you want or add the value of sustainability to your already existing business."

The tabletop aquaponics systems are designed to educate homeowners about the systems while doubling as decorative objects for the home and growing a few herbs for the kitchen.

At a recent business boot camp lead by Loughridge and Sue, students learned how to make an effective pitch as well as concepts such as pricing, cost of goods sold, profit margins and branding.

The six student teams, each with its own name, design and marketing strategy, used social media tools like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to market their projects.

Team MAP Enterprises had the goal of building a tabletop aquaponics system with versatility, so their kit is designed to sit atop a typical home aquarium, with metal sliders that can be adjusted to fit on larger or smaller sizes.

"Our main goal is to educate and get people excited about sustainability," said Team MAP’s Isaiah Brow­ning.

Simplicity was key for team Aquapros in both design and marketing, according to member Trevor Blake, since Apple has been successful with that approach.

The Aquatops Hawaii team opted for a grow bed bordering the fish tank below it because it’s more aesthetically pleasing, said student Nikki Stacey, who emphasized the systems are a way to conserve water in Hawaii. Through social media the team has already garnered potential customers, she said.

Besides the eXploratory program, Mid-Pacific offers students an elective course in aquaponics. It is also home to two aquaponic systems that grow lettuce, eggplant, tomatoes and kale, with the help of a tub full of tila­pia. Teachers sign up for a subscription to buy the greens for $2 a bag, when available.

The eXploratory project is unusual in that in addition to grades from teachers, students will also get community feedback and the potential reward of starting a business, said Werberger.

And with the lessons learned, Earth Day will be every day.