Living wall in Ripich Commons now includes edible plants

The living green wall inside the state-of-the-art, eco-friendly Danielle N. Ripich Commons building now includes edible plants.
Pak choi, romaine, Swiss chard, kale, spearmint, basil, oregano and parsley now make up a section of the wall. Some of the plants were grown on campus in the aquaponics lab at the Marine Science Center.
鈥淥nce they're grown to a certain size in the aquaponics lab, we transfer them over to the living wall and they鈥檒l finish growing there,鈥� says Alethea Cariddi, sustainability coordinator at UNE.
The wall, made up of 960 plants, is a prominent feature of the Ripich Commons on the Biddeford Campus.
Cariddi says that trying to include edible plants has been a challenge.
鈥淲e've had a lot of obstacles to overcome in terms of light levels,鈥� she explains. 鈥淭he edible plants need a lot more light than tropical ornamentals. We're not trying to maximize growth with the ornamentals, but for edibles, the bigger the better, so we need increased light levels. I think we're getting to the point where it's just about balanced and we're feeling pretty encouraged by that.鈥�
Getting edible plants up on the living wall has been a collaborative effort involving 91直播视频students from the Aquaponics Club and the Nutrition Club.
鈥淚t has been a great opportunity to get students involved,鈥� Cariddi states. 鈥淲e actually have a high school student from Baxter Academy for Technology and Science who is interning with us this semester. He has been a big help as well.鈥�
The edible plants will eventually be harvested from the wall and sold as part of a fundraiser.

