Grow
Challenges
The challenge pitched to the team at the beginning of the term was to explore the ways that the team could recycle wastewater produced by urban farms and reuse it into their growing system. During the design phase and research phase of the project, it had become increasingly clear that urban farm systems were already efficient and producing minimal wastewater. Meanwhile, research showed that agricultural farming had an intense impact on the environment, and that Toronto was dependent on food imports. The team then shifted their focus to answer the questions: why aren’t there more urban farms? and can urban farms help Toronto become less dependent on food imports?
After re-scoping the project almost entirely, the engineering team found that urban farming systems were expensive and that the technology was not designed to be used by non-specialized users. Meanwhile, the envs team began their research on Toronto’s food security and realized that the city relies heavily on food imports, both within and outside Canada’s borders. This meant that the agricultural industry was producing immense amounts of emissions from transport, and the transport of goods also meant that Toronto residents were having to pay higher prices because of this extra cost from producers. This was a major issue because 1 in 10 Torontonians cannot afford healthy food.
With this information, the challenge now was to create an urban food growing system that was affordable and accessible to people in Toronto. For community members or users to have a hyperlocal source of food would mean lower emissions and lower costs. If the Loop food growing system proved to be efficient and used by our potential users, then not only would it be providing residents with much needed food, but it would also greatly reduce environmental impacts from little to no transport.
The group had to determine who its target audience was to ensure that the project could be tested by our potential users. For financial reasons, restaurant owners and local grocery stores were our ideal choices. Though our Loop growing system was cheaper than other urban food growing systems due to its scale, the group acknowledged that at our current production, the system might be too expensive for our other potential users: homeless shelters, community gardens, and family/individual households. The group also acknowledges that the list of users that were not selected as the target audience, are the users that would benefit most out of the project. However, we had to focus first on a target audience who could afford the project without the expense being a risk to the user if the project did not deliver what was needed. The plan was to acquire enough capital from selling the system to the target audiences, then put that back into the project to be able to acquire the materials in bulk that would reduce the cost of manufacturing which would then allow us to reduce the price of the system and even provide it to those it would impact most.
Further details on the impact of the project can be found in the ENVS portion of the research.
Solution
The group acknowledged that developing a cheaper and simpler urban farm system could be a potential tool to address Toronto’s food problems, especially to residents who are in food deserts and do not have access to healthy and affordable food. To address the issues of the lack of urban farming, the direct solution was the Loop growing system developed by the engineering team. It is a vertical and modular structure that allows users to customize their systems according to how many plants they want to grow. The food growing section has a watering stem found in the middle of the structure that draws water from the water reservoir on which the entire structure sits upon. The system has a very user-friendly interface that has simple functions and an alert system to let the user know when it’s time to replace the water, add nutrients, and other necessary steps. Hopefully, with these features, the urban food growing process has been simplified enough for the potential users and can be scaled according to their needs.
With the Loop urban farming system, this makes food production more accessible by urban dwellers, in this case, Toronto. Although the device will not be available to all of our potential users due to financial and production constraints on our part, the urban farming system creates a greenspace inside the urban areas and produces food for the users. As the population of the Earth grows rapidly every year, the pressure on the existing food systems are increasing as well. There is a finite amount of land and water, and traditional farming practices are dependent on those two things. Not to mention, greenhouse gasses produced by intensive traditional farms are contributing to climate change. A result of climate change is erratic weather and increased instances of droughts and floods, which in turn, make traditional farming unreliable as many crops are damaged due to climate change-induced weather events. The project aims to simplify urban farms to hopefully start the transition away from traditional agriculture, and the social impact it provides hopefully highlight the problems with the current food distribution and production system.
Further details on the impact of the project can be found in the ENVS portion of the research.
Team Dynamics
The entire team would conduct check-ins and meetings to figure out the direction of the project, however, because of other academic responsibilities, the team had to work mostly through their sub-teams which were grouped according to their department: Engineering, Media, and Environmental Studies.
Each sub-team addressed the project through their lens and perspective, conducting their own research when needed, then later sharing these inputs with the group during meetings. Each sub-team also had their own requirements to submit for their department course.
Engineering Team:
The detailed processes conducted by this team can be found in their ENG4000 report.
For this team, their requirements were outlined by the ENG4000 Capstone course.
Media Team:
The Media team created and maintained a team website where information, deliverables, and documentation for the group’s journey were compiled for potential users and customers. The website was created to summarize the technical and specialized reports produced by the other teams into a digestible and accessible source of information. The team also created a podcast mini-series where the group documented their work process, while also providing listeners with an in-depth look into a casual side of the project. The podcast topics varied from personal opinions to project documentation, this allowed the members of the group to sit down with each other and update their fellow group mates on new findings and research. This also gave the group a reason to just hang out and understand each other more.
For this team, their requirements were outlined by the FILM 4101 Capstone course.
ENVS Team:
Unlike the two other teams, the ENVS team did not have a corresponding capstone course to outline the department requirements. Majority of the project’s duration, the ENVS team had trouble figuring out what it was they could produce and contribute to the group. Finally, this sub-team decided to create a report that would highlight the issues of Toronto’s food system, and provide an impact report on the project device. The research provided by the ENVS team included a satellite imagery/gps report on Toronto’s greenspace, and with that, a secondary report was made using that information to highlight the potential impact of the project.
Legacy and FInal Thoughts
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, like almost everything, the project could not continue as planned. The production of the physical food growing system was immensely impacted as access to the engineering labs, and delivery delays meant that the prototype would not be able to undergo all the necessary tests and be fully completed in time. Meanwhile, the environmental studies research was also slightly impacted as the team no longer had access to specialized libraries that provided them with maps and archival data that is not available online. This also impacted the satellite imagery and gps data that was showcased in the reports as personal computers did not have the appropriate satellite imagery programs. Lastly, the media team podcast could not continue due to social distancing rules, as well as no longer having access to media equipment that was provided by York University. Though some aspects were accessible remotely, many integral parts of the original project had to be rescoped once again, or at least, put aside until it can be completed. Some members of the group have voiced out that they would like to continue the project even after the course has ended.
All project information and research can be used by further studies, possibly even a new C4 capstone pitch for the following year. With information that confirms Toronto’s need for accessible and affordable food, as well as space restrictions highlighted in the ENVS report, indoor food growing systems are a viable solution. Though the current project and team cannot confirm this hypothesis, this could be a basis for a new project that can be further developed by other students.
Throughout the course, the team had encountered numerous obstacles that derailed the project time and time again. Rescoping the team project as more members left the group was a tiring and disheartening experience. Nevertheless, the project was completed by the remaining members of the group who have had to learn new skills used in both the technical aspects of the project, and the social aspects of team management. Overall, the team did its best and persevered to not only complete the project, but for all the sub-teams to complete their own respected requirements and goals. The group may not have been the model team nor was the project able to reach its full completion, but what we think the group does showcase is how to continue despite having all the reasons to give up. Though the team was met with a lot of frustration along the way, there were also great memories and good friendships created in the process.
The C4 Capstone course taught each of us what it meant to work with people from different walks of life, with those that saw the world differently from their own, and how to use those differences to produce something that was important to all of us. What made the project successful, in terms of team dynamics and management, was the openness and honesty that the members had to face to keep the project moving forward. The honesty in the group transcended the outlines of the project, and members were able to confide with each other on the hardships that were happening in their own personal lives that were impacting the project. This was met with support from the other members and overall, brought the team
