FLO Nation Farms

03/06/2022

Hey everyone,

Welcome to this week's ! We apologize again for the issues with the posts (or lack thereof) this week. We will be dedicating extra time to make sure that everything works properly moving forward.

Back in the summer of 2020, we started reaching out to every organization in New Brunswick that could possibly help to get FLO Nation Farms started. One of these businesses was the Co-operative Enterprise Council of New Brunswick.

It just so happened that one of the teachers at the Dorchester Consolidated School had approached CECNB around the same time looking for funding to buy a small hydroponic system for the school.
We asked if there was a way that we could be of help, not knowing the awesomeness that lay ahead...

Once CECNB had introduced us, it didn't take long for what started as a chat about their plans for a small classroom hydroponic system to quickly evolve into a plan for something way more epic... a plan to convert an entire unused classroom into an aquaponic classroom and food learning lab.

Showing the next generation how awesome aquaponics is while boosting local food security? How could we possibly say no to something like that?

Over the next few weeks, we built out a 3D model of what the classroom could look like, and I think it's safe to say that we blew a few minds when we showed everyone what the little 25x20 foot classroom was capable of. These photos show the original design for the classroom which included a large fish tank, Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) racks, a flood-and-drain media bed, grow towers, and a massive vertical green wall.

The craziest part...?

We all decided to go even bigger! BUT... that's a story for next week, so tune in next Thursday for the next part of the story!

03/06/2022

Hey everyone!

Unfortunately we have run into a bit of a snag. The content that we had scheduled to post this week didn't actually post like it was supposed to.

We will be releasing the for this week within the next hour, and insuring that tomorrow's posts properly. We will post the content that was scheduled for the start of this week to next the start of next week. We apologize for the issues, and we will be posting some fun bonus content this weekend to help make up for them.

Thank you for tuning in! for this week within the next hour, and ensuring that tomorrow's

27/05/2022

Hey everyone!

Welcome to our first .

Every Friday we will be covering different aspects of FLO Nation Farms. These will include why we started, The road so far, the story behind our name and our logo, our plans for now, and our goals for the future (plus some fun surprises along the way).

I guess the best place to start the story would be at the beginning, right? Well, around seven and a half years ago, I built my first aquaponic system. It was more of a personal challenge and hobby than anything. I just wanted to see if I could make it work.

Through some trial and error, I managed to build a working system, and well... I was hooked. I jumped down the aquaponics rabbit hole with both feet, and I've never looked back. Since then I've designed, built, and operated over 50 unique aquaponic systems, and designed nine vertical farms, two aquaponic micro-farms, and a custom vertical growing system.

Want to know why I fell so completely in love with aquaponics?

Check back Monday to find out!

26/05/2022

Unused rural classroom to local food security initiative?

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to our first !

Over the next few weeks, we will be dedicating every Thursday to telling the story of how the Dorchester Consolidated School turned an unused classroom into an aquaponic micro-farm capable of growing an incredible amount of fresh, local food.

The classroom is currently capable of growing over 125 leafy greens and herbs to harvestable size every single week, all year round. That's almost 7000 plants per year, and this is only the first phase of the project! With plans to begin phase two this summer, the school will almost double its production.

The best part? The students at the school get an incredible experiential learning opportunity that will teach them about a huge amount of subjects like math, biology, chemistry, physics, food security, the food system, volunteering, and many more, all while having a ton of fun!

How did this project end up happening in the first place? Stay tuned to find out!

16/05/2022

Good afternoon everyone!

It has been quite a while since our last post, but I am happy to announce that we will be making up for it from this point on!

We have a whole slew of content planned for the coming months, so stay tuned! We will be covering the basics of aquaponics, providing updates on our volunteer project at Dorchester Consolidated School, our story, and much more.

We are beyond excited to be back in action, and look forward to what comes next!

26/08/2021

Hey everyone!

I apologize for the hiatus on posts. Once the school year is back in swing, we will be back to posting regular content.

Here is a quick video tour of the aquaponics classroom at the Dorchester Consolidated School

https://youtu.be/TGFZyfZs1X4

Hey everyone, here is a quick guided video tour of the aquaponics classroom at the Dorchester Consolidated School!

18/05/2021

Hey everyone,

We hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

We're going to continue our story about the aquaponics classroom & food learning lab at Dorchester Consolidated School!

After I had completed the 3D model of the proposed classroom, I send screenshots to the staff at Dorchester Consolidated School, our partners at the Co-operative Enterprise Council of New Brunswick, and the Youth Partnership Initiative, as well as few family/friends who were excited to see the what I had been working on.

The positive feedback that I received from everyone was amazing! Everyone was so energized, and enthusiastic about the project. We immediately started applying for grants and funding programs and were met with another massive wave of support for the project.

During the time that we were waiting for answers on our funding applications, the school decided to change the location for the classroom within the school. This had two major advantages. The first advantage was that this would allow them to keep their kitchen/cafeteria intact, and the second was that the new classroom was almost twice the size! (Photos below)

Between the classroom upgrade and supply issues due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we slightly redesigned the layout to make it more functional. We split the one large aquaculture tank in the original design into several smaller tanks, and we expanded our "green wall" vertical grow system from a small corner unit to one that covered the entire wall behind the aquaculture tanks.

14/05/2021

CONGRATULATIONS Carly O'Toole !!

You have won the draw for the necklace!!!!

13/05/2021

WooHoo! We have officially made it to 100 page likes everyone! We can finally do the draw for the necklace!!

We will do the draw on Friday afternoon! We would love to do it tomorrow, but we will be working on the project at the Dorchester Consolidated School all day tomorrow. However that is good news for any of you that have not yet liked, commented, and shared the contest post! Anyone that does so before midnight tomorrow (Thursday, May 13th) will be entered in the draw!

Thank you all for your support, it really does mean the world to us!

12/05/2021

Good afternoon everybody,

As we mentioned in our previous post, we will be sharing our journey so far with Dorchester Consolidated School .

With that in mind, let's start at the beginning!

We had been working with the amazing folks at Co-operative Enterprise Council of New Brunswick for approximately 2 months, attempting to source funding, and support/mentor programs in order to get out vertical farm off the ground (pardon the pun). Around that time Stu Murray (One of the awesome teachers at the school) approached CECNB for help setting up a hydroponic system at the school.

Stu and I were introduced in the hopes that I might be able to help with some guidance on their project, and the rest as they say, is history. What had originally been a plan for a small hydroponic system for the school took on a life of its own. With grants from the provincial government, and donations from local partners, that idea for a small hydroponic system became the plan for an entire classroom in the school dedicated to learning about aquaponics, growing food, and supporting the local community.

I designed a system based on the dimensions of the classroom that we had planned to use, and then I created a 3D model of the proposed space. (Photos Attached)

11/05/2021

Hey everyone,

Since October, we have been working with the Dorchester Consolidated School to build them an aquaponics classroom and food learning lab!

It has been quite an adventure so far. The first few months were spent designing the system, sourcing the materials and equipment needed, and applying for grants/funding.

Co-operative Enterprise Council of New Brunswick, the Youth Partnership Initiative, Greater Dorchester Moving Forward Co-op, and an awesome team of local volunteers and supporters have been instrumental in making this project become a reality.

We have been documenting the whole process so far, and are excited to share the journey so far with all of you! Over the next few days we will be posting about the different stages of the project, so stay tuned!!

21/01/2021

Hello everyone!

We have two big exciting updates for you.

Our website is officially up and running! Check it out at www.FloNationFarms.ca!

Also, we are finally able to share the big news that we had mentioned was coming. We are absolutely thrilled to announce that we have partnered with the Dorchester Consolidated School to build their students and aquaponic classroom / food learning lab!

Check out the photos of the classroom that we have designed for them on our website, on the "Special Projects" page.

The school is located in south eastern New Brunswick, close to the N.B./N.S. border. The principal and staff have been absolutely fantastic to work with, and they truly care about their students. We are all very excited to get the classroom set up. As soon as the province manages to get a handle on its Covid-19 cases (and we return to yellow phase), we will be diving head first into the build!

Stay tuned for project updates, and reach out if you are interested in helping with the project!

Cheers,
The team at FLO Nation Farms

25/12/2020

Merry Christmas, and happy holidays from FLO Nation Farms! We hope that everyone is safe and well this holiday season. We apologize for not posting much over the last couple of months, but we have been working hard on some HUGE projects. We will be posting an update closer to the start of the new year, so stay tuned!!

24/09/2020

Hey everybody,

We just wanted to send out a quick hello. We know that everyone is waiting for the draw for the necklace, and as soon as we hit the 100 page like/follow mark, we will be doing the draw right away!

Stay tuned!

06/09/2020

Hey everyone!

We are really close to being able to do the draw for the necklace. We only need 18 more likes on the page!

Invite anyone who might be interested it our page to follow us. As soon as we hit 100 page likes we will put the name of everyone who likes the page into the draw!

24/08/2020

Hey everyone!

We just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been helping us make this dream a reality.

Every time you like or comment on one of our posts, or share our page with your friends and family it helps us spread the word about what we are trying to build.

Our dream is to help build a community where food sovereignty, and food security are never issues again. Where everyone has access to fresh, delicious, local food for their families year round.

Thank you again!

22/08/2020

Alright everyone!

As of yesterday we have hit 50 likes on our page! As promised I have an announcement.

We will be holding a draw for a hand crafted wooden ring with resin inlay! The ring will be custom made in the ring size of the winners choosing.

*** EDIT *** To make it easier for everyone to enter the draw we are switching it up a bit!

** To enter the draw all you have to do is like and share this post, and then comment that you're done! Once we have 200 followers on this page we will draw the winner! **

Thank you again to everyone who has liked our page and our posts. We really appreciate it. We are working hard to get the message out about what we are trying to accomplish!

Looking forward to getting the list together, and getting ready to draw the lucky winner.

14/08/2020

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who has liked and followed our page, and to anyone who has checked out out our posts!

5 more followers, and we will have a special announcement! Stay tuned!

09/08/2020

Hello!

Thanks for checking out our page. It is pretty empty at the moment, but lots of new content is on the way!

If you aren't familiar with our project, we are an urban farming initiative, based in Saint John, N.B., Canada. We plan to combine aquaponics with vertical farming techniques, as well as a number of other growing/sustainability systems to create an environmentally friendly agricultural system capable of growing food for our communities all year long.

The province of New Brunswick is only 8% self sufficient in terms of fruits and vegetables. This fact is not a secret (anyone can find out through a Google search) but it is not talked about anywhere near as much as it should be.

Due to the short growing season, as well as other geological and environmental factors, the province of New Brunswick only grows 8% of the fruit and vegetables that are consumed in this province. This means that we are almost completely dependent on others for our produce needs, with the majority of the products being sourced from the U.S.A.

The longer that produce (especially vegetables) spends in transport or storage, the more it loses its freshness, nutritional value, and flavor. In some instances by the time it makes it to the consumer, it has lost up to 50% of its nutritional value!

By placing our farm inside the city, we will be able to provide our customers with the absolute freshest products, as we will be able to deliver them within 24 hours of being harvested. This will also massively reduce the carbon footprint of our food, due to the very short delivery distances.

We are almost ready to make this dream a reality! Stay up to date on our progress by following our page! We look forward to having out join us on this journey.

Cheers,
Mackenzie

09/08/2020

Some starts for mammoth basil, two varieties of purple basil, and rainbow chard!

21/04/2020