Benedictine nun uses aquaponics to raise fish, grow food and teach others

ST. LEOSister Miriam Cosgrove peeled back the black plastic tarp that covered a 250-gallon fish tank. The tilapia inside swam to the surface. "A feeding frenzy," Cosgrove, 73, said as the fish fought for each pellet of food that the Catholic sister dropped into the water.The tank is one of 10 in the greenhouse next to Holy Name Monastery, installed in December so Cosgrove, who will have been a Benedictine nun for 55 years this summer, could minister to the world in a new way: with aquaponics — "a sustainable, self-sufficient fish farm."Several years ago, Cosgrove saw a brochure that she didn't know would one day alter her ministry.It was for Morning Star Fishermen, an aquaponics training center 4 miles from Holy Name, where Cosgrove has lived since she was a young adult. The photo on the front — of a girl holding what Cosgrove called a "beautiful vegetable" — impressed her."How did she do that?" Cosgrove wondered.Cosgrove had maintained an in-ground garden for years, but decided to attend an aquaponics training program at Morning Star.One problem: The tuition was more than she could afford.When a friend of Cosgrove's learned of her interest, Cosgrove said, "she dragged me into the chapel and prayed out loud: 'If this is going to give you (God) glory, then we're going to find the money for this training.' "The next morning, Cosgrove recieved an email from Morning Star Fishermen. Phil Reasons, the center's executive director, had offered her a scholarship."And it was a big scholarship," Cosgrove said.She signed up for five days of aquaponics training.When she showed up the first day, all she knew about aquaponics was that it existed. What she learned would be invaluable.Aquaponics combines the techniques of aquaculture and hydroponics to grow plants and raise aquatic animals. In the case of Cosgrove's fish, it involves raising the fish in tanks and filtering their waste through a system of PVC pipes that turn it into fertilizer and deliver it with water to plant beds where vegetables grow."You don't have to buy one drop of synthetic fertilizer. You're not devastating the land. You're cooperating with nature," Cosgrove said.As a Catholic, she said, that is important to her."Jesus walked this earth. Breathed this same air. Drank this same water," she said. "Morning Star says gardening is a spiritual experience."Cosgrove agrees.• • •When her religious order built a new monastery last year, across the street from the old one, the sisters discussed their wishes."We want nature around us," Cosgrove said. "Natural light coming through. We want it green, if we can afford it."Other nuns suggested an herb garden."I want more than an herb garden," Cosgrove told them.She had just completed her aquaponics training, and pitched the idea."I want to begin aquaponics," she said in a meeting with the sisters and the new monastery's architect, construction workers and landscaper — "gardening with fish," she clarified.At first, Cosgrove said, they looked at her like she was crazy. Then, "the sisters said, 'We can do this,' " she said.But, Cosgrove said, the cost would be an issue. Finding the money became her responsibility.On a Monday at a Mass at St. Rita's Catholic Church in Dade City, Cosgrove mentioned a prayer intention to those in attendance."I prayed for the success of an aquaponics program," she said.After Mass, a married couple approached her. They asked her what aquaponics is. Then they asked how much money she needed for it."My first donation," she said.In August of last year, the sisters moved to their new monastery. By October, Cosgrove had raised only half of what it would take to create the aquaponics farm. The sisters decided to have it built anyway."We agreed to do monthly payments until our debt was paid off," Cosgrove said.Then, she said, "another miracle" happened."A longtime friend of the community paid off the entire aquaponics bill," Cosgrove said. "I just broke into tears."Since the system's installation, Cosgrove has been responsible for feeding the fish and monitoring their water's chemistry. She has harvested lettuce and broccoli. She has yet to harvest fish, but intends to.• • •Next to the greenhouse, Cosgrove maintains an in-ground garden."If it's a fruit or a root, it has to grow in the ground," she said. "If it's a stem or a leaf, it can grow in aquaponics."Since her gardens are still new, the yield is manageable. But over time, they will flourish."Who's going to harvest all this food? That scares me to death," Cosgrove said. "I should have more trust in God, I know."She has one part-time employee — Elizabeth Reasons, the daughter of Morning Star's executive director. But Cosgrove seeks volunteers to help, and already has some.Liv Kirk, 42, met Cosgrove last summer when Kirk, a yoga instructor for athletes at Saint Leo University, stumbled upon what she refers to as Cosgrove's "secret garden," the in-ground garden the sister maintained at the old monastery.Kirk, who has a master's degree in environmental management, visited frequently after she met Cosgrove and volunteered to help when the sisters started their move to the new monastery. She learned about aquaponics from Cosgrove."Sister Miriam has taught me so much," Kirk said. "Aquaponics is so important. Whenever waste can be reused to produce something healthy, it makes the world into a more healthy place."Volunteer Shelley Binkley, 20, is a junior who majors in biology and minors in environmental studies and studio art at Florida Southern College in Lakeland."I think the food produced here is much better in quality than (food produced at) a factory farm," Binkley said.So far, Cosgrove uses the food in monastery meals and to feed volunteers. But, she said, when the gardens flourish, she intends to sell some of the yield at local markets. She also aims to teach the community how to garden, using both aquaponics and in-ground techniques. She wants to record an instructional DVD in order to educate."Our corporate commitment (as Benedictine nuns) is to feed the hungers," Cosgrove said. "A spiritual hunger, a physical hunger, a hunger for knowledge."She likes aquaponics because it provides her with an opportunity to satiate all of them."She is wise and kind, generous and hardworking," Kirk said. "She lives the Benedictine values in every way." Contact Arleen Spenceley at aspenceley@tampabay.com or (727) 869-6235. Follow @ArleenSpenceley.

Benedictine nun uses aquaponics to raise fish, grow food and teach others

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