Operation Meraki RePlant
Operation Meraki RePlant is a Sustainable Food and Farming Program anchored by indoor horizontal agricultural gardens positioned in community spaces. Once funded, this program will honor the Servicemen and Servicewomen who have lived or live in the community. This program aims to teach Veterans urban farming techniques to meet the diverse needs of “food deserts,” rural and urban communities where people struggle to get healthy food.
Each week, our veterans and their families gather with the community to tend the towers where vegetables, including onions, tomatoes, potatoes, herbs, leeks, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower grow. Members help each other plant, grow, and harvest the crops while sharing casual conversation, and this is where the healing begins. Gardening offers Veterans who have endured traumatic experiences the chance to put their hands in the soil and develop helpful grounding techniques.
RePlant will offer open workshops and workdays to help our Veterans gain valuable urban gardening experience. Beyond providing fresh local produce, we believe vertical agriculture will help increase food production and expand agricultural operations for the world’s growing population that will exceed 9 billion by 2050. And by that same time, two out of every three people are expected to live in urban areas.
Producing fresh greens and vegetables near these growing urban populations could help meet growing global food demands in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way. They will reduce distribution chains to offer lower emissions, grow produce higher in nutrients, and drastically reduce water usage and runoff.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Vertical Farming?
Vertical farming is the practice of producing food on vertically inclined surfaces. Instead of farming vegetables and other foods on a single level, such as in a field or a greenhouse, this method grows produce in vertically stacked layers commonly integrated into other structures like skyscrapers, shipping containers, or repurposed warehouses. This modern idea uses indoor farming techniques like Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) technology to control temperature, lighting, humidity, and gas levels to producie foods and medicine indoors. In many ways, vertical farming is similar to growing in a greenhouse, where artificial lighting coupled with metal reflectors augment natural sunlight. The primary goal of vertical farming is to maximize crop output in a limited space.
How Does Vertical Farming Work?
Understanding how vertical farming works involves four critical areas:
- Physical layout
- Lighting
- Growing medium
- Sustainability features
Since the primary goal of vertical farming is to produce more food per square meter, crops are cultivated in stacked layers in a tower life structure. A combination of natural and artificial lights is used to maintain perfect lighting levels in the room, and technologies like rotating beds are used to improve lighting efficiency. Next, aeroponic, aquaponic, or hydroponic growing mediums like peat moss, coconut husks, and similar non-soil mediums are used instead of soil. Finally, vertical farming employs various sustainability features to offset energy costs and uses 95% less water.
What Are The Advantages Of Vertical Farming?
The most significant advantage of vertical farming is greater output from a small cultivation area. But there are many others.
Preparation for the Future
By 2050, roughly 68% of the world population is expected to live in urban areas, and this growing population will lead to an increased demand for food. We believe the efficient use of vertical farming techniques will play a significant role in preparing for this challenge. I
Increased, Year-Round Crop Production
Vertical farming allows us to grow more crops in the same amount of space. One acre of indoor farming area offers the equivalent production of at least 4-6 acres of outdoor capacity. An independent study estimates that a 30-story building with a 5 acre growing area can produce the equivalent crop that 2,400 acres of conventional horizontal outdoor farming do. And year-round crop production is possible in a controlled indoor environment.
Uses Less Water
Vertical farming allows us to grow crops using 70 – 95 percent less water than standard cultivation.
Not Affected By Weather
Crops in a field can be adversely affected by natural calamities such as torrential rains, cyclones, flooding, and severe drought – events becoming increasingly common due to global warming. Indoor vertical farms are less likely to feel the brunt of the unfavorable weather, providing greater certainty of harvest output throughout the year.
Increased Production For Organic Crops
As crops are grown in a well-controlled indoor environment, chemical pesticides aren’t necessary, allowing us to grow pesticide-free, organic produce.
Friendly To Humans And The Environment
Indoor vertical farming lessens the occupational hazards associated with traditional agriculture. Indoor farmers are not exposed to heavy farming equipment, diseases like malaria, poisonous chemicals, etc. It doesn’t disturb animals or trees in inland areas and promotes biodiversity.