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ACEP Intern Finds New Experiences in Researching Greenhouses

Fuel prices and cost of food are on the rise, threatening �ֻ�ֱ�� communities’ energy and food independence. With a short agricultural growing season, much of �ֻ�ֱ��’s food is imported and relies on long supply chains from the Lower 48. By increasing the availability of local foods throughout the year, �ֻ�ֱ��ns can regain their food autonomy.

Summer and recent �ֻ�ֱ�� mechanical engineering graduate Mori Hays is looking at ways to do this through strategizing designs of greenhouses that run throughout the year and grow fresh produce for �ֻ�ֱ�� communities. His project involves researching issues related to integrating renewables into greenhouses and gaining hands-on technical experience with design and construction of research infrastructure.

Hays and his mentor, Daisy Huang, recently traveled to , a nonprofit educational farm located on the outskirts of Fairbanks, to learn about how farmers operate greenhouses in �ֻ�ֱ��. During their visit, they met with Calypso Farm and Ecology Center co-founder Tom Zimmer.

During a farm tour, Zimmer showed Hays and Huang the extended season greenhouse, which uses a combination of large black containers that act as heat storage, a wood fuel stove and a solar panel to power a system that circulates warm air in cold weather. All of these features contribute to keeping plants alive during the cold spring months. Zimmer described the task of keeping a greenhouse running in the cold as a “challenge.”

Throughout �ֻ�ֱ��, dozens of greenhouses run throughout the year and are powered by a variety of sources, including biomass, geothermal, wind and solar. Hays plans to interview operators of these greenhouse operations.  

Is there a community greenhouse in your �ֻ�ֱ�� community worth investigating? If so, please email Mori Hays at mehays2@alaska.edu.

Mori’s project is funded by the . For more information on the internship program, please contact Jeff Fisher at jsfisher3@alaska.edu.