不良研究所

Yet another huge snowfall is behind us and gardeners are eager to get their seeds in the ground, so Closed Loop YYC, comprised of U不良研究所 researchers and community members, is co-designing a closed-loop gardening system to produce food year-round in 不良研究所. 

Growing out of a dissertation by , MSc'18, PhD'24, this closed-loop system utilizes black soldier fly technology to convert organic waste into rich soil additives. 

According to the , roughly 30 per cent of annual waste produced by Canadians is considered organic materials, including yard, agricultural, wood, food and separated paper waste. 

鈥淲aste is a resource, especially when you're thinking about the circular economy,鈥� says Chineme. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at how to use waste to generate a viable, but helpful product that is needed by society or the community.鈥�

The goal of Closed Loop YYC is to pilot a new type of 鈥渇ully circular鈥� greenhouse utilizing the black soldier fly technology, which creates a full nutrient loop by consuming waste as they grow, explains Chineme, a research assistant with the and sessional instructor in the . 

The black fly larvae eat organic material, and their exoskeletons, when shed, provide a nutrient-rich additive for soil, she says. 鈥淭hen the larvae can be fed to livestock or pets, closing the loop." Chineme won a in 2023 for her research. 

The greenhouse is part of research to test and adapt prototypes in diverse community settings to strengthen equitable access to higher-yield, more diverse urban food production. 

Closed Loop YYC, which was supported by a , held a  on March 28 to gather feedback from the community and find partners to pilot the program. Students from , a community service-learning capstone course to complete a community-based project for a local organization or initiative, were instrumental in the planning. 

Community members with lived experience are vital to this project, says , PhD, associate dean of transdisciplinary scholarship with the .

鈥淭his is a different kind of solution to food insecurity," says Godley. "It鈥檚 actually growing food that people need within our own city, with the people that need it.鈥� 

Steve O'Gorman from  attended the workshop. "This was the launch of a very dynamic engagement process that has potential to support food security and community wellbeing projects in communities everywhere, we are pleased to collaborate with this wide range of folks,鈥� he says.

Adds Gabriella Wong Ken, BN'19, executive director at , who also attended the event: 鈥淭he closed-loop gardening workshop provided a great opportunity to collaborate with other passionate gardeners and to learn more about how this innovative project can come to life in 不良研究所.鈥� 

From Tanzania to 不良研究所

Chineme initially explored this closed-loop gardening technology in a Tanzanian context because she saw that unregulated waste disposal disproportionately affects women and the proposed solution supported environmental sustainability and gender equity. The team is now exploring ways to apply the learnings to the 不良研究所 context. Since the climates between 不良研究所 and Tanzania, located in east Africa, are vastly different, it takes lived community experience with consideration of the economic and social components to take root appropriately.

Transdisciplinary scholarship legitimizes lived experiences and helps translate and adapt the knowledge across contexts, says Chineme: 鈥淚 want to make it not just accessible to the people with resources, but for people who don鈥檛 have the resources, too."  

Godley adds this is a different solution to the problem. 

鈥淔ood security is a wicked problem. We definitely needed people who represent different aspects of food security to come together for this discussion,鈥� says Godley, who is also academic co-lead with the . 

Chineme says transdisciplinary scholarship helps to validate the knowledge. 

鈥淭ransdisciplinary research allows you to think about the entire system and then try to find out what you can actually work on within the system and change,鈥� she says.

These self-contained growing systems will extend the growing season for communities, and the team hopes to contribute to the broader food sovereignty discussion by producing tangible outputs for the community. 

Project collaborators 

• Dr. Jenny Godley, PhD, Faculty of Arts, U不良研究所
• Dr. Tinuke Chineme, PhD, School of Public Policy, U不良研究所
• Dr. Irene Herremans, PhD, Haskayne School of Business, U不良研究所
• Dr. Amir Bahman Radnejad, PhD, Mount Royal University  
• Dr. Tatenda Mambo, PhD, School of Public Policy, U不良研究所
• Veronica Briseno Castrejon, PhD Candidate, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, U不良研究所
• Gabriella Wong Ken, Grow 不良研究所
• Steve O'Gorman, STAR Energy Solutions
• Deborah Maier, 不良研究所 Horticultural Society
• Kath Smyth, 不良研究所 Horticultural Society
• Fawaz Okunola, School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape, U不良研究所
• Azael Hoil Briseno, School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape, U不良研究所
• Eric Chen, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, U不良研究所
• Nia Flomo, Global Development Studies, Faculty of Arts, U不良研究所
• Jon Gibney, International Relations and Global Development Studies, U不良研究所 
• Caroline Gross, Global Development Studies and Inclusive Elementary Education, U不良研究所