A climate garden in industrial Linz with a solar-powered aquaponics system, designed in 2023 to be monitored and controlled by a TeleAgriCulture kit over…
ABOUT THE PROJECT In the heart of the Linz industrial area, on the Hollaberer estate, there is a climate protection garden (Klimaoase) on the western part of the property was created and could thus be saved from further sealing by the new use. A soil nature trail, a natural micro forest (tiny forest) and an open classroom are intended to convey the importance of soil protection and climate protection. In this way, visitors and school classes can be brought closer to the environmental history of this location. From 2023, a generously covered pavilion was planned to offer a weather-protected place for various workshops around the garden (pastures, clay floor workshops …) as well as external uses in the sense of recreation (mental health, yoga, tai-chi, qi-gong). take place in direct relation to the garden. Visitors actively support the preservation of the small refuge by participating in the special offer. When building the soil nature trail, special emphasis was placed on resource-saving construction (regional wood and urban mining). The local recreation area can be used by registering with the Schwemmland association.
Thanks to the Stadt_Linz Klimafond, both the Klimaoase and my Islands of the Day Before projects received generous funding, and in spring 2023 we were in the final stages of building a very unique aquaponics system for the Klimaoase, due to open in late June 2023.
AQUAPONICS For this project a unique aquaponics system has been developed, as both a public facing exhibit for communicating both the project and local fluvial ecology, and also to produce waste to be used and tested in a 3 year microbial /soil toxin regeneration study, in collaboration with Dr. Julian Chollet. The study compares soil inoculants produced from a fungal/bacterial bioreactor (that repurposes my IBC tanks now for a 4th project!), this aquaponics system and from regular composting with a worm farm, in order to measure soil recovery from the negative effects of industrialisation.
This aquaponics system is unique, in that it uses steel planter beds with volcanic stones and all natural biofiltration, refinement and bacterial housing materials. It also optimises water flow, so that from a single pump, the fish waste is pumped up 2.5 metres into the double biofiltration and refinement station, where from there, it simply uses gravity to then flow back through the plant beds and into the fish tank: a process that significantly reduces energy costs (and therefore the solar requirements) and also is designed to maximise water oxygenation along the way. Another unique aspect is that the fish tank is made entirely of recycled wood, using an old tongue and groove joining method to seal everything together.
Finally, the number of fish has drastically reduced down to just a handful of juvenile local (vegetarian) carp species, again lowering the carbon footprint by not requiring meat based proteins and also the costs of feeding. To keep the carp happy, local species of aquatic plants will also oxygenate the water and provide much needed shade and shelter.
TeleAgriCulture Implementation For this project, a bespoke solar energy system has been developed with local engineer Branko Radicevic, along with the water and air pumping system. This is both controlled and monitored by our new generation TeleAgriCulture sensor kit and would run on LoRaWAN, a low-power, wide area networking protocol built on top of the LoRa radio modulation technique. It wirelessly connects devices to the internet and manages communication between end-node devices and network gateways.
The Klimaoase site would in fact house the LoRaWAN gateway and connect all other partner site locations in Linz and then network this globally via the TeleAgriCulture platform, where the environmental conditions can be monitored, including: temperature humidity water level pH dissolved oxygen gases including O2, CO2, CO, and VOCs grow bed root system moisture water flow rate electrical conductivity (in the grow medium and water) Oxidation-Reduction Potential noise levels, and energy status for the solar system.
This data would then be mapped into a global monitoring network that merges biotopic conditions (such as those at the Klimaoase, that are very different to the surrounding areas) with open weather data to both compare and compensate for data discrepancies. This information would then be used in innovative solutions for communicating local weather and ecology to the public.
PROJECT SCOPE My contribution to the Klimaoase, in terms of scientific study, technological innovation and creative public engagement, was planned through to late 2025, however it is our intention that the aquaponic system be a permanent feature at the site and that the data ecosystem will also remain long into the future. For more information regarding the Islands of the Day Before Project please refer to the project page.