Our Aquaponics System Is Coming Along... Swimmingly!

The fish are finally in!  A couple of weeks ago, after testing ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, chlorine and everything else under the sun in our aquaponic system, we arrived at the point where we were finally ready to bring in the fish. We added twenty-five baby tilapia to our fish tank and dubbed them the first bunch of a long lineage of fish to dwell within those plastic walls. The idea behind the aquaponic system is to sustainably produce a variety of food throughout the year in an almost self-sufficient, growing system that uses the nutrients from the fish to produce garden life inside of the adjacent greenhouse.  

We are a couple of weeks into the first growing cycle and have added tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers to the system.  The fish are happy, healthy and growing and the plants seem to be doing the same. It is still early on in the process, but as for now, the smiles on our faces reflect the smiles that we see on the faces of our new-found aquatic friends! Thanks for all of the prayers and continue to pray for the sustainability and production of life in our gardens!

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. - 1 Corinthians 3:7

The new fish house for our aquaponics system is on the right, next to the
aquaponics greenhouse.

Rocks being cleaned and prepared for the new system.

Finishing construction on the new fish house

The fish are here!

Testing the water

Making A Positive Difference: YouthServe Birmingham

This summer, we have partnered with YouthServe, a program for teenagers that promotes volunteerism and leadership. This great organization is located just a short walk away from our location in Avondale. Each YouthServe week, a group of around 10 youth worked at Christian Service Mission doing a variety of things! One of the first projects they tackled in the summer heat was cleaning donated industrial kitchen equipment. One group tackled organizing and sorting donations in the warehouse. Another group harvested vegetables and weeded tomato plants in our garden behind the warehouse, then cleaned out a room to prepare it to be painted.

Then a YouthServe group spent a day washing rocks! No, we weren’t out of projects for them, we just needed our rocks cleaned off from all miscellaneous particles and dust so they could go in our aquaponics beds! Aquaponics is a method of gardening that combines hydroponics with growing fish to produce very healthy plants! The silt on the rocks can clog up filters and introduce toxins to the otherwise very clean environment so these volunteers had a really important job! (See pictures) Some of the projects YouthServe tackled are more fun than others, but they are always committed to doing their best with great attitudes!

While they are experiencing ways to make a positive difference in their community, these helpful hands get a lot of work done quickly and allow our small staff to focus on the tasks volunteers can't do. Jeri Bagley, YouthServe staff leader told us, "YouthServe loved serving with Christian Service Mission. There are so many ways to serve with CSM which gave YouthServe campers the opportunity to serve in different ways and see all the ways CSM was helping Birmingham communities. All the staff at CSM are wonderful and kindly welcomed our campers." We love having volunteers and are so thankful for YouthServe Bham’s huge help this summer!

Filling buckets with rocks that will be washed

Rocks washed as to not clog up aquaponics system

Rocks being transferred to the aquaponics beds

The inside of the finished aquaponics beds

CFGB Grant Awarded to CSM!

We have been so encouraged with the recent news that The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham has awarded Christian Service Mission a $25,000 grant to expand our sustainable community agricultural projects for alleviating food insecurity with aquaponics and hydroponics gardening. Aquaponics is a food growing method that produces both fish and plants in a complimentary closed-loop water system. Hydroponics is a gardening method using a mineral nutrient solution in water rather than soil. These aqua-garden methods allow us to explore the viability of urban organic farming in our city and surrounding areas, regardless of the season or the presence of soil toxins.

This new funding from CFGB will allow the Garden Ministry to expand on our current research and development in successful and sustainable community agricultural applications with our aqua-gardening initiative.

With the success of our traditional gardens in our communities, as well as on-site at our Avondale location, we want to develop the ability to distribute fresh-picked produce all year-long with our Compassion Food Box ministry. Our goal is to create an aqua-garden model that not only sustains fresh fruit and vegetable production year-around, but can also be scaled, duplicated and serve as a teaching model for other organizations, community gardens, schools, and individuals.

Contact us for tours and volunteer opportunities in the fall: michael@csmission.org

Fresh is Always Better

Aquaponic Greenhouse in our Garden Center

As we approach the summer months, many of us love the taste of fresh produce and vegetables plucked right from the garden. You may have a garden, or may have grown up with family members or neighbors who had gardens in their backyards. We have “grown” our Garden Center here at CSM and our partner community gardens to help make fresh produce accessible to our food partners who are in food deserts and face food imbalances where they live. Food deserts are areas that lack access to affordable healthy foods. Mainstream grocery stores are far away and residents have poor access to these stores. Food imbalance exists where grocers are distant and unhealthy options are easily accessible, and is directly tied to health issues such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity. 

Did You Know? In Jefferson County:

• More than 88,000 people and 23,000 children live in food deserts / areas of food imbalance
• 125,778 people are in poverty
• 71% of residents in Jefferson County are classified as overweight
• 31% of residents in Jefferson County are classified as obese
• 91,190 people are SNAP recipients

We also are able to help meet this food imbalance crisis in Birmingham by distributing fresh produce from our food donors. We are so grateful to our food donors who help us provide fresh produce and fruits to our partners here at CSM. Recently we received a truckload of produce from a local produce company. This donation provided individuals, families, senior citizens and after-school programs with fresh fruits and vegetables and gave our partners an opportunity to give to those they serve on a weekly basis fresh healthy food at no cost to them. 

You Did It!

You all knocked it out of the park during our annual campaign! Our goal was $75,000 and you raised $114,492. We are humbled and amazed at your generosity and God's great provision. We are so excited about being able to serve more people and connect more resources to needs in 2016. 
Soli Deo Gloria!

Volunteer Spotlight: Redeemer Lutheran, Damascus, MD

This church is dedicated to serving in their city and around the country and we couldn't be happier that they have chosen us as one of their favorite destinations. While some of the group changes, the majority make the trip twice a year to work on one of the houses we are building or anything else that needs to be done. They are such a joy to be around and spend a lot of time caring for our staff in really sweet and loving ways. This trip they organized all the tools, worked on the foundation, walls, and water beds for the second greenhouse, built the walls for the Jackson house, assembled the pavilion, and helped us get ahead on many projects. They also spent a lot of time caring for our staff, praying with us, and encouraging us to keep going.

Meeting Ms. Brazziel

Having fun while working hard!

Building walls for the Jackson house

Framing the 2nd greenhouse

These ladies care for our staff so well!

Organizing the tool truck

Assembling the pavilion

We sure do miss this group and can't wait for them to return!

What A Difference A Year Makes!

We love a great before and after and these photos show some of the changes from this past year!

Our backyard is getting a makeover. For years it has been an unusable space filled with old railroad elements, uneven terrain, and lots of rocks. Last year we added a garden to a small part and had great success growing our first vegetables! This year we extended the garden and with the help of many volunteers we removed the railroad ties and cleared out a lot of weeds. We are so excited to be able to use this space for gardens and fruit trees, as a lawn for fun activities when we have groups here for an extended time, to host events, and be a better steward of what we have!

Backyard Before, early 2015

Backyard After, September 2015


 This year we decided to build an aquaponic greenhouse and it has been so successful that we are adding a second greenhouse for more production and to be able to start seeds in the winter! This area used to be a large dirt field and now it houses two greenhouses and a second garden! We are excited to be able to grow more produce year-round using the aquaponic method and to share this method with school children, other ministries and non-profits, and our international friends who are passionate about getting great food to more people in areas where water is a limited resource. 

Before Feb 2015: Starting the first greenhouse

After Sept 2015: Starting the 2nd green house and a garden

This is the another view of the garden next to the aquaponic greenhouses. This area became a second garden with raised beds this spring and this summer we added a pavilion built by boy scouts! The pavilion will provide much needed shade for working in the garden and a place to sit while waiting to tour the greenhouses. And it has already become a great place to sit and have a conversation or enjoy a minute of quiet reflection during a busy day. These improvements are transforming the warehouse into an even greater place for people to come and volunteer, learn, and minister to each other!

Before Feb 2015

After Sept 2015: A beautiful place to work, talk, and enjoy!

2014-15 Impact Report: Food Ministry

Donated cans from the 2015 City Food Drive 

Since January, we have received over 397,644 pounds of food from a variety of partners and have distributed 421,197 pounds to 46 organizations. Each Monday and Friday we distribute food to 20 partner ministries and agencies. The donations received help these ministries care for more people and increase their opportunities to serve in the community.

A few of the ministries and non-profits we serve include: Oak Mountain Mission, Brother Bryan Mission, Lovelady Center, Changed Lives Christian Center, Steps and Traditions, Restoration Ministry, Turning Point, Antioch Baptist Church, COH Dream Center, and Care Center Ministries. 

Donation Partners
Our largest donors are: Wood Fruitticher, Buffalo Rock, Greater Full Gospel (Publix), New Visions Enrichment, Squincher Corp, Flowers Bakery, Omni Foods City of Birmingham, and Magic City Harvest.

Programs
In addition to the weekly food distribution, we have several programs that help our partner ministries meet the food needs of those they are caring for. Voucher Boxes, Compassion Packs, STAIR and after school Bible study snacks are available to our partners for a small facilitation fee. 

We have distributed 1,500 voucher boxes since July 2014. This opportunity allows our partners to care for people with a one-week supply of groceries without having to worry about purchasing, storing, and managing a food pantry.

We distributed 3,500 Compassion Packs into schools so that hungry children have more food choices at home. And our Compassion Packs provide an inroad for ministries to be able to serve in the schools.

Gardens
The Birmingham Sharing Gardens is another program in the Food Ministry. Our 2015 goal is to share 5,000 pounds of produce with the community. These gardens use the produce to supplement their food pantries, care for their church members and neighbors, and provide learning and fun opportunities for the children participating in summer camps.

There are 6 community gardens located in: North Birmingham, Woodlawn, Fairfield, West End, Pratt City, East Lake, and at CSM in Avondale. Last summer, 3 participants in the Fairfield garden reported weight loss, new friendships, and a renewed energy all from working in the garden. So far this year we have harvested and distributed over 2,500 pounds of produce.

Working at Grace Garden in Fairfield

We added aquaponics and watched in amazement
at how the plants grew!

Antioch garden in Pratt City, planted for spring

New garden at CSM

Beans, okra, tomatoes, peppers, squash and more grew at the
CSM garden this spring and summer! 

Produce went to our partner ministries and to individuals in need

Planting at Greater Shiloh Baptist Church in West End

Our ministry partners were excited to receive the fresh produce to feed in their
care homes and to distribute to the communities they serve.

 

Our Aquaponics Installation Is Complete!

What is aquaponics?

Aquaponics is the cultivation of fish and plants together in a constructed, recirculating ecosystem utilizing natural bacterial cycles to convert fish waste to plant nutrients. This is an environmentally friendly, natural food-growing method that harnesses the best attributes of aquaculture and hydroponics without the need to discard any water or filtrate or add chemical fertilizers. (Aquaponic Gardening Community, Nov 2010)

Why did CSM build an aquaponic system?

We have seven community gardens that grow produce in a traditional way. We love our gardens and the opportunity it gives us to use fresh produce in our food ministry. Watching children and adults discover that they like vegetables and want to try more made us want to grow more to share! One of our staff members took an interest in aquaponics and started doing the research and we realized we had the talent and materials available to create a greenhouse and build the beds. With this method, we can grow year-round, grow more plants per square inch than traditional gardening, and provide a place for others to come and learn! 

How does it work?

Illustration courtesy of The Aquaponics Source