Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440

Ecological design applied

John Todd a,b,∗ , Erica J.G. Brown a,b , Erik Wells b
a Ecological Design Program, School of Natural Resources, George D. Aiken Center,
The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405-0088, USA
b Ocean Arks International, 176 Battery Street, Burlington, VT 05401, USA

Accepted 4 August 2003

Abstract

Over the past three decades ecological design has been applied to an increasingly diverse range of technologies and innovative
solutions for the management of resources. Ecological technologies have been created for the food sector, waste conversion
industries, architecture and landscape design, and to the field of environmental protection and restoration. The five case studies
presented here represent applications of ecological design in five areas: sewage treatment, the restoration of a polluted body of
water, the treatment of high strength industrial waste in lagoons, the integration of ecological systems with architecture, and an
agriculturally based Eco-Park. Case #1 is an Advanced Ecologically Engineered System (AEES) for the treatment of sewage in
Vermont, a cold climate. The facility treated 300 m3 per day (79,250 gallons per day) of sewage to advanced or tertiary wastewater
standards, including during the winter months. A number of commercial byproducts were developed as part of the treatment
process. Case #2 involved the treatment of a pond contaminated with 295 m3 per day (77,930 gallons per day) of toxic leachate
from an adjacent landfill. A floating Restorer was built to treat the polluted pond. The Restorer was powered by wind and solar
based energy sources. Over the past decade the pond has improved. There has been a positive oxygen regime throughout the
water column, bottom sediments have been digested and the quality of the sediment chemistry has improved.
The biodiversity of the macrobenthos of the pond has increased as a result of the improved conditions. Case #3 involved the
treatment of 37,850 m3 per day (1 million gallons per day) of high strength waste from a poultry processing plant utilizing a
dozen AEES Restorers. The technology has resulted in a 74% drop in energy requirements for treatment and has dramatically
reduced the need for sludge removal. Currently, sludge degradation is proceeding faster than sludge accumulation. Case #4
includes several examples of buildings that utilize ecologically engineered systems to treat, recycle and permit the reuse of
wastewater. The new Lewis Center for Environmental Studies at Oberlin College is a recent example of this trend. Case #5
describes the work that is leading to the creation of an urban, agriculturally based, Eco-Park in Burlington, Vermont. Waste heat
from a nearby power station will provide year round climate control in a structure developed for food processing businesses,
including a brewery, and for the onsite growth of diverse foods in integrated systems. We also describe a project to amplify the
value of waste organic materials through biological conversion to high value products such as fish, flowers, mushrooms, soils
amendments, and livestock and fish feeds. An ecologically designed fish culture facility will be an integral part of the Eco-Park
complex. The project is intended to demonstrate the economic viability of integrative design in an urban setting and to address
the important issue of locally based food production.
© 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Ecological design; Advanced Ecologically Engineered System (AEES); Waste conversion; Restorers; Applied ecology; Wastewater
treatment; Integrated food production; Eco-Park

∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Todd).

0925-8574/$ – see front matter © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2003.08.004
422 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440

1. Introduction Ecologically Engineered System (AEES). AEESs use

the natural abilities of living organisms to break down
For the past 30 years, the Todds and their associates macromolecules and metabolize organic nutrients typ-
have been applying the teachings of ecology to re- ically found in wastewater and polluted water bodies.
source management and infrastructure support in both To date, they have primarily been designed either as
industrial and agrarian societies (Todd, 1977; Todd tank-based systems for the treatment of point-source
and Todd, 1980, 1984, 1994). This work has included waste or floating systems placed on existing bodies
the development of ecological technologies for food of water that receive non-point-source pollution. Over
production, fuel generation, waste conversion, water the last decade, the implementation of AEES and other
purification, chemical detoxification, environmental ecological technologies into sectors of mainstream so-
restoration, and ecological innovation in architecture ciety has progressed significantly through the work of
that created bioshelters. In 2002, the Lemelson-MIT Ocean Arks International (OAI).1 This article provides
program in innovation and invention recognized this an overview of the evolution of ecological technolo-
effort as a significant new direction in the evolu- gies in the past decade and their relevance to our work
tion of technology (Brown, 2002). Ecological design, in waste and wastewater treatment, environmental re-
engineering and economics are beginning to play a pair, architectural integration, food production, and the
significant part in mainstream society. development of an agriculturally based Eco-Park. The
We owe a great debt to the ecologists who saw application of these technologies are presented in a se-
their science as having a role to play in the design ries of case studies that are recent or ongoing. Projects
of future societies. In North America, the brothers were selected based in part upon their availability to
Eugene Odum and Howard T. Odum laid out the visitors. It is our desire to maintain working examples
conceptual framework for the practice of ecological of ecological design for others to study and improve
design (Odum, 1959, 1971). By applying ecologi- upon. To fully appreciate these ecological “engines”,
cal theory, their students and colleagues have made with their biological complexity and diversity, direct
significant contributions to technological problem contact with the systems themselves is often impor-
solving (Mitsch and Jorgenson, 1989; Etnier and tant.
Guterstam, 1997). As we enter a new century it is
important to reflect that the industrial era of the 19th 2.1. Sewage treatment in cold climates: south
and 20th centuries brought wealth and power to a Burlington, VT AEES
number of cultures, but did so at the expense of the
environment, biodiversity, and the stability of Earth’s A tank-based AEES was constructed in south
self-regulating systems. The task of righting the bal- Burlington, Vermont in 1995 to determine if the
ance between society and nature is essentially eco- technology is capable of treating sewage to high
logical. It requires that the wisdom of ecosystems be standards in a northern New England climate, par-
applied to a fundamental redesign of human support ticularly during the cold and short day-length sea-
technologies. It has been cogently argued that such sons. The AEES facility was housed within a 725 m2
a redesign could reduce the negative human footprint (7800 ft2 ) greenhouse (Fig. 1).2 It contained two par-
on the Earth by up to 90% (Hawken et al., 1999). allel treatment systems designed to treat 300 m3 per
Such is the promise of applied ecology.
1 Ocean Arks International is a not-for-profit organization ded-

icated to the development of ecological design and its implemen-

2. Putting theory into practice: five case studies tation into society.
in North America 2 This facility was one of a series of AEES demonstration

projects in four states sponsored by the US EPA through a grant

Todd and Josephson (1996) described the precepts to the Massachusetts Foundation for excellence in Marine and
Polymer Sciences. Ocean Arks International was a subcontractor
and theoretical foundations that provide the framework to the Massachusetts Foundation on all of these projects. Dr. Todd
for the design of living technologies. From this the- was the principal investigator. Living Technologies Inc. provided
ory has grown a technology referred to as Advanced engineering, construction and operations on the Vermont AEES.
 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440 423

Fig. 1. Process diagram of the south Burlington, VT AEES. This facility is located adjacent to the city of south Burlington municipal
wastewater treatment system. It treated 300 m3 per day (80,000 gallons per day) of municipal wastewater to tertiary standards from 1995
through 1999. It is located next to a local brewery and is currently being converted into a waste conversion and food production facility.
Illustration by Ian Ambler.

day (80,000 gallons per day) of sewage from the city ported on the surface of the water by rigid plant racks
of south Burlington to advanced tertiary wastewater designed to provide gentle flow over the roots in a
standards for carbonaceous biochemical oxygen de- highly aerated and turbulent surrounding environment
mand (CBOD5 ), total suspended solids (TSS), total (Fig. 2). The system was designed to utilize micro-
Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), ammonia (NH3 ), nitrate bial communities attached to plant roots, as well as
(NO3 ) and total nitrogen (TN). The performance tar- flocculating bacteria in the open water, to affect treat-
get for removal of fecal coliforms in the system was ment. Invertebrates, including micro-crustacea, and
2000 cfu/100 ml without disinfection (Fig. 3). freshwater clams provided biological filtration, while
The Vermont AEES was biologically diverse. Over snails and fish were incorporated into the design to
200 species of vascular and woody plants were eval- digest residual biosolids.
uated for their effectiveness and suitability for waste The flow was split between two 150 m3 per day
treatment between 1995 and 2000. Plants were eval- (40,000 gallons per day) treatment trains with a hy-
uated for: (1) their ability to tolerate sewage, (2) the draulic retention time (HRT) of 2.9 days. The facility
extent of the root zones, (3) disease and pest resis- was started in December 1995, operated at its design
tance, (4) ease of management, and (5) secondary flow capacity by May 1996 and was maintained at this
economic value. The plants were physically sup- steady state until the end of 1999.
424 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440

Fig. 2. Photograph of tank at the south Burlington, VT AEES. This planted aerobic tank is one of the first in a series of similar tanks used
for treatment of municipal waste in Vermont. The roots of plants installed in racks on the top of the tank provide the necessary diverse
microhabitats for effective and efficient treatment.

Each treatment train was comprised of nine tanks plants mounted over an outer ring of open water. Ben-
connected in series. Each tank was 4.6 m wide ×4.6 m thic organisms, including mollusks, are physically
deep (15 ft × 15 ft). Raw effluent entered and was supported by the media that comprises the inner part
mixed in an anoxic reactor. An ecological gas scrub- of the EFB. Depending upon water quality and their
ber, employing higher plants and a soil/bark/compost position in the series, the EFB’s could be operated
media, was mounted over the anoxic reactor tank to anoxically to aid denitrification, or aerobically for
control odors normally associated with raw sewage. polishing and final filtration.
The wastewater flowed from the anoxic reactor The Vermont AEES facility’s performance has been
into four aerobic reactors. Dense plantings were described in detail by Austin (2000). The facility met
maintained on surface racks (Fig. 2). The waste then and exceeded its design parameters, for CBOD5 , TSS,
flowed to a clarifier covered with floating aquatic TKN, NH3 , NO3 − and TN as well as fecal coliform
plants. Biosolids from the clarifier were recycled to bacteria (Fig. 3). A high level of performance was
the anoxic reactor or wasted. Downstream of the clar- maintained even during the coldest months (Fig. 4).
ifier were three tanks containing ecological fluidized Phosphorus design standards were also met, but the
beds (EFBs) in series.3 The EFB is in essence a sub- AEES technology has yet to demonstrate phosphorus
merged trickling filter capable of supporting higher removal beyond what would be expected in a nitrifying
activated sludge process.
3 United States Patent #5,486,291 23 January 1996 and United One of the goals of the project was to grow or-
States Patent #5,618,413 8 April 1997. ganisms that not only provided treatment but also
 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440 425

Fig. 3. Summary of influent and effluent data for the south Burlington, VT AEES. Influent and effluent water chemistry data presented
below represent averages and standard deviations of weekly samples taken between May 1996 and December 1999. Black horizontal lines
represent the design effluent for the system. Data source: Austin, 2000.

had potential economic benefits. Botanicals with eco- organic material and plankton produced internally
nomic value included young trees such as Taxodium within the facility.
distichum L. (bald cypress), Zantadeschia aethiopica One of the most striking aspects of the Vermont
L. (Calla Lily), and plants used for environmental facility was its beauty. It remains a frequently visited
remediation or wetland mitigation. Fish grown and educational facility and is currently operated as a test
harvested from the system included Notemigonus facility for the treatment of different types of high
crysoleucas M. (golden shiners) and other bait fish, strength organic wastes including brewery wastes. It
Pimephales promelas R. (fathead minnows), and orna- is also a site where new economic byproducts from
mental fish including Carassius auratus L. (goldfish) both liquid and solid waste conversion processes are
and Japanese koi. All of the fish species fed upon being developed.
426 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440

Fig. 4. Mean monthly ammonia influent and effluent concentrations. Ammonia effluent concentrations were consistently below design
standards despite seasonal differences and varying influent loads. Units are mg/l. Graphic and data source: Austin, 2000.

2.2. Environmental restoration: Flax Pond, MA pond is delineated into an eastern zone and a west-
ern zone; the cloudier eastern zone is the predominant
Flax Pond is a 15 acre (6 ha) pond in Harwich, Mas- zone of impact from the landfill (Fig. 5). The pond had
sachusetts that has been heavily impacted for decades a maximum depth of 6 m and stratifies in its western
by leachates from an adjacent landfill and unlined sep- end.
tage holding lagoons. By 1989, the pond was closed In the autumn of 1992 construction of the first float-
to recreation and fishing because of contamination ing Pond Restorer was completed and anchored in the
caused by the daily intrusion of 295 m3 (78,000 gal- eastern end (Fig. 6). It employed a windmill and so-
lons) of leachate from the landfill (Horsley et al., lar panels for electrical generation and was capable of
1991). The pond had low oxygen levels, high coliform circulating through its nine cells up to 380 m3 per day
counts, excessive sediment build up, and organic pol- (100,000 gallons per day) of water drawn from the bot-
lutants in the water column including volatile organic tom of the pond. The first three cells were filled with
compounds (VOCs). Macro-benthic organisms were semi-buoyant pumice rock that supported diverse ben-
absent from many of the bottom sampling stations. thic life including freshwater clams of the genera Unio
Flax Pond had unusually high sediment concentrations and Onodonta. Since phosphorus was limiting in the
of total phosphorus (300 times greater) and iron (80 pond’s water column, we added a slow release form
times greater) compared with other Cape Cod ponds of a clay-based soft phosphate to the EFB cells in the
(K.V. Associates, 1991). Ammonia levels in the sed- Restorer. We routinely undertook bacterial augmen-
iments were found to be as high as 8000 mg/kg. The tation and mineral enrichment in the first three cells.
 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440 427

Fig. 5. Aerial photograph of Flax Pond and surrounding landscape, MA. The eastern end of Flax Pond receives the majority of the
incoming groundwater leachate from the nearby landfill. There is little mixing between the eastern and western ends of the pond. The
Pond Restorer is located in the eastern end.

The final six cells supported over two dozen species Water clarity and the overall health of the pond has
of terrestrial plants on racks. The Restorer was not op- improved over the past decade, and biodiversity has
erated during the winter months to allow the pond to increased. The physical part of the original Restorer
freeze completely. system is beginning to age after a decade of operations,
The first noticeable effect of the Restorer on the and in 2002 it will be shut down and replaced with
pond was the return of a positive oxygen regime to the three floating upwelling windmills. We do not know
bottom. By 1995, the sediment depth throughout the if Flax Pond will be able to maintain itself, including
pond had been reduced by an average of 64 cm rep- its current positive oxygen regime, with the minimal
resenting a total of 38,000 m3 of digested sediments. management and low budget approach planned for the
Between the years 1999 and 2001, dramatic changes future. Large volumes of polluted leachate from the
in the sediments took place, including large reductions adjacent landfill are projected to continue impacting
(exceeding 50%) in total phosphorus, ammonia and Flax Pond for at least next 20 years.
TKN (Figs. 7 and 8). Total iron increased in the west-
ern end and decreased slightly in the eastern end of the 2.3. Organic industrial wastewater treatment:
pond. Alkalinity followed a similar pattern. We do not floating AEES Restorer, MD
know which internal mechanisms were involved in the
changes in sediment phosphorus, however TKN reduc- In the late 1990s, the design of the Pond Restorer
tion must be associated with nitrification and denitrifi- used in Flax Pond evolved into a linear AEES Re-
cation in the sediments (nitrates were below detectable storer design for use on new and existing wastewater
limits in all sediment samples in both 1999 and treatment lagoons (Fig. 9). This technology combines
2001). the benefits of the small footprint AEES tank-based
428 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440

Fig. 6. Diagram of Restorer installed in Flax Pond, MA. This Restorer houses three ecologically fluidized beds (EFBs) and six cells
containing wetland plant communities. Water is drawn from the bottom of the pond and circulated through the EFBs in the center of the
Restorer and then out through the wetland cells. Circulation rate is 378 m3 per day (100,000 gallons per day). Illustration by James Stone.

technology (Section 2.1) with the simplicity and ef- some nutrient uptake and they shade/inhibit suspended
ficiency of constructed wetlands. The first large-scale algae in the lagoons. Water is treated in the open ar-
wastewater application of the floating AEES Restorer eas on each side of the Restorers with fine bubble lin-
technology was installed in June 2001 on a wastewater ear aerators installed at the bottom of the lagoon. The
treatment lagoon that treats 3785 m3 (1 million gallons center zones of the Restorers, with suspended fabric
per day) of high strength poultry processing waste in media provide surface area for attached growth micro-
coastal Maryland. The installation was a retrofit de- bial communities and as such are submerged, aerobic,
sign to upgrade the efficiency and treatment of an ex- fixed film reactors.
isting lagoon treatment system. The Restorers were The transition between the old SBR system and the
installed in a 34,100 m3 (9 million gallon) storage la- new Restorer lagoon took place in October 2001. Al-
goon downstream of a lagoon that had been run as a though it is too early to present definitive quantita-
Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) for over 15 years. tive data, qualitative successes of the project in these
Twelve Restorers run 43 m (140 ft) each across the la- early stages are worth noting. Since start-up of the
goon and are secured from the banks in multiple cells, Restorer system, effluent standards have not exceeded
creating a serpentine flow pattern with floating baffles. state permit levels. The electrical energy use in the la-
Twenty-five species of native plants (25,000 individu- goons has been reduced by approximately 74% com-
als) were installed in plant racks on the outside edges pared to the former SBR system. Energy reduction is
of the Restorers (Fig. 10). The plants are a critical el- the result of higher biological reaction rates in the Re-
ement in the technology. Their roots provide surface storer lagoon and the efficiency of the new aeration
areas and nutrient support for microbial communities, design. Sludge has been trucked for 20 years from the
 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440 429

5,000 125,000 30,000

4,000 100,000 24,000

-29%
-92%

18,000 +.7%
3,000 75,000
(mg/kg)

-82%
12,000
2,000 50,000
-93%
-53%
6,000
1,000 25,000

0
Alkalinity

Alkalinity

0 0
(West)
(East)

Ammonia Ammonia TKN TKN

(East) (West) (East) (West)

1999 2001
Fig. 7. Sediment nitrogen data summary for Flax Pond, MA (1999 and 2001). The graphs show means of three samples in the eastern end
of the pond and four samples in the western end. Sample sites were identical between the 2 years. A certified laboratory in Massachusetts
analyzed the samples. Bars show standard deviations. Changes in sediment chemistry are noted as percents for each parameter.

poultry processing plant for land application at nearby We have recently completed an AEES Restorer for
farms. The sludge comes from a variety of locations the treatment of canals into which raw sewage is dis-
within the wastewater system, including the lagoons. charged in the city of Fuzhou in southern China. The
Since installation of the Restorers the average truck- first phase of the project involves cleaning up a 600 m
loads of sludge leaving the processing facility have stretch of the Baima canal. If successful, the project
decreased significantly. This overall sludge reduction will be expanded to include up to 80 km of polluted
is the direct result of reduced sludge coming from the canals in the city.
Restorer lagoon. Operation of the former SBR system
required wasting of sludge for 8 h every day from the 2.4. Architectural integration: Oberlin College, OH
lagoons. Following installation of the new Restorer
system, sludge is wasted for approximately 1 h every In recent decades architecture has begun to include
few weeks. In addition, 45 sludge judge samples have ecologically designed systems within structures for
been taken monthly within the Restorer lagoon. Since air purification, humidity control, water re-use, waste
August 2001 total sludge levels have decreased by ap- treatment and food production. The bioshelters devel-
proximately 10 cm (4 in.). This decrease indicates that oped by the Todds were highly integrated ecologically
sludge degradation is faster than sludge accumulation, designed systems for living and life support (Todd and
even as the lagoon treats waste. When the project com- Todd, 1994).
pletes its first full year of operation, quantitative data A number of new buildings have employed ecolog-
will be available to accompany these early qualitative ically engineered technologies for waste treatment,
notes. water reuse and education including the Ontario,
430 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440

15,000 200,000

12,000 160,000

-9.7%
-91%
9,000 120,000
(mg/kg)

6,000 80,000

-66% +28%
40,000
3,000

0
0
Total Total Total Iron Total Iron
Phosphorus Phosphorus (East) (West)
(East) (West)
1999 2001
Fig. 8. Sediment phosphorus and iron data summary for Flax Pond, MA (1999–2001). The graphs show means of three samples in the
eastern end of the pond and four samples in the western end. Sample sites were identical between the 2 years. A certified laboratory in
Massachusetts analyzed samples. Bars show standard deviations. Changes in sediment chemistry are noted as percents for each parameter.

Canada, Boyne River School and the Kitchener/ self-regulating technologies optimize internal climates
Waterloo YMCA rural campus. The most recent of and support a diversity of ecological elements within
these is the Lewis Environmental Studies Center at the buildings. Nature is increasingly being brought in-
Oberlin College in Ohio. The building itself is an doors for practical and aesthetic reasons. No where is
outstanding example of high performance and sus- this better expressed than in the Alterra Institute build-
tainable design and integration with an ecologically ing in Wageningen, Holland (Steiner, 2000). The Eco-
integrated landscape. The building includes renew- logical Design Studio at the University of Vermont is
able energy, natural day-lighting and non-toxic and applying these concepts to the retrofit of aging cam-
recyclable materials (Fig. 11). Within the structure is pus buildings.
an AEES system for sewage treatment and biological
research. This system, similar to the Vermont AEES, 2.5. Integration of industrial and agricultural
includes tanks connected in series and a constructed sectors: proposed Eco-Park in Burlington, VT
wetland within the building (Fig. 12). The tanks sup-
port a diverse community of tropical and temperate Ecological design concepts are starting to be ap-
plants. The purified wastewater is sterilized with UV plied to the development of integrated economic
before reuse in the toilets in the building. systems in an industrial context. One challenge of
There is a growing interest in redefining the func- applied ecology is the creation of new living tech-
tioning of buildings in ecological terms. This is driv- nologies capable of supporting the infrastructures of
ing some architects towards conceptualizing buildings human societies. An Eco-Industrial Park has been de-
as “organisms”. New light transmitting designs and fined as, “a community of businesses that cooperate
 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440 431

Fig. 9. Drawing of lagoon with floating AEES Restorers. This drawing shows the serpentine flow pattern through the AEES Restorer system
installed on a wastewater treatment lagoon. Also shown are the fixed-film reactors installed beneath the planted Restorers. Illustration by
Ian Ambler.

with each other, and with the local community, to effi- complex. The structure that will support the project
ciently share resources (information, materials, water, combines greenhouses with a conventional light man-
energy, infrastructure and natural habitat) leading to ufacturing facility in a 3800 m2 (40,900 ft2 ) structure.
economic gains, improved environmental quality, and The complex, to be completed in 2003, will be heated
equitable enhancement of human resources for busi- with hot water from the power station, thereby utiliz-
ness and local community” (President’s Council on ing energy that is now wasted.
Sustainable Development, 1996). The food culture team at OAI has been developing
The city of Burlington and the Intervale Founda- some of the agricultural components for the Eco-Park.
tion established the Intervale Community Enterprise Our approach has been to start with readily avail-
Center (ICEC) to develop a year round, agricultur- able organic wastes and through ecological processes
ally based Eco-Park in a 280 ha flood plain within convert the wastes to high value products. Our goal
Burlington’s city limits. The Eco-Park will derive most is ecological and economic amplification of organic
of its energy from the utilization of waste heat from materials in an integrated manner similar to that de-
the 53 MW McNeil power station. The McNeil power veloped by Yan and Ma (1991). On a pilot scale the
station, one of the nation’s largest wood chip fired materials we are using include spent grain from a local
electrical generating facilities, is situated in the Inter- brewery, straw, and bedding from an organic poultry
vale. operation. There are several stages in the conversion of
The project has brought together a number of allied materials.
businesses including a brewery, several food proces- Stage 1: The organic materials are blended, pas-
sors, a restaurant, and a host of Intervale growers and teurized and inoculated with oyster mushroom spawn
suppliers to the Eco-Park. The University of Vermont’s (Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq: Fr.)). The substrate is
ecological design studio will also be housed in the placed in plastic bags punched with holes and placed
432 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440
 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440 433

Fig. 11. Diagram of Oberlin College, OH sustainable building project.

in a mushroom incubator room. When the bags are Stage 2: The spent mushroom substrate is placed in
fully colonized by the mushroom mycelium they are earthworm or vermiculture chambers. The earthworms
transferred to a grow room for fruiting and harvest. rapidly converted the materials to enriched compost.
Biological efficiency of conversion, the ratio of wet The earthworms, a product of the process, were then
weight of harvested mushrooms to the dry weight of blended with aquatic plants, Azolla sp. (water fern)
the substrate, has exceeded 60%. After harvest the and Lemna spp. (duckweeds), to produce protein-rich
remaining substrate has the potential to be used as fish feeds.
a high quality animal feed for livestock. In the pro- Stage 3: The mushroom/earthworm based compost
cess of mushroom production the vegetative forms of is then utilized in the growing of tropical plants in
fungi colonize the straw and spent grains and pro- pots and the culture of salad greens. No additional
duce essential amino acids such as lysine. Tests with fertilization to the compost is required for the produc-
cattle and the fish tilapia have demonstrated a ready tion of greens. After several harvests of salad greens
acceptance of the material. the medium is then utilized as a soil amendment or

Fig. 10. Photographs of AEES Restorers in a poultry processing wastewater lagoon, MD. The top photograph shows five of the 12 Restorers
installed in sequence on a wastewater treatment lagoon for poultry processing waste in Maryland. Each Restorer is 5 m wide and 44 m
long. Gentle linear aeration in the open water channels provides efficient mixing and aeration. The diverse plant communities are shown
close-up in the bottom photograph. Plant roots grow directly into the water column and provide the necessary surface area for efficient
attached growth treatment.
434 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440

Fig. 12. Photograph of AEES at Oberlin College, OH.

 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440 435

Fig. 13. Photographs of integrated waste conversion and food production, VT. (a) Spent grain from a local brewery provides the substrate
for red-worm, (b) oyster mushroom, (c) salad greens production, (d) mushrooms and greens are sold to a local restaurant and food
cooperative and worm castings can be harvested and sold to local gardeners.

as a potting soil. The composite photograph (Fig. 13) based upon four tank modules for the culture of aquatic
shows the brewery waste substrate, the mushroom animals. To date, we have successfully cultured Ore-
culture, the earthworms, and salad greens under cul- ochromis sp. (tilapia) and Perca flavescens M. (yellow
tivation. At the new Eco-Park, we will increase the perch) in these systems. The illustration (Fig. 14)
conversion of waste materials from the current pilot shows the relationship between four ecological cells
scale, to a system capable of handling up to 15 t of to support fish during their culture. The illustrations
organic material on a daily basis. depict how the aquaculture systems work. The fish
Another key component in the design of integrated are isolated in Cell #1. They are fed algae turf screens
food systems for urban settings is aquaculture. The from the cells downstream and zooplankton that flow
food team at OAI has designed recirculating systems into the tank in the recirculating water. Cell #2 converts
436 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440

fish wastes to stable sediments that support rooted to provide water quality improvement and additional
aquatic plants and filtering organisms. Subsequent products.
cells continue to improve water quality and convert Stocking rates for yellow perch were one fish per
the nutrients into internal food webs. Horticultural 9 l and for the tilapia up to one fish per 7.5 l. The
crops (Fig. 15) are also incorporated into the design system is designed to produce feeds for the fish

Fig. 14. Drawing of ecological aquaculture tanks used in research train, VT. Illustrations by Ian Ambler.
J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440 437

Fig. 14. (Continued ).

438 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440

Fig. 15. Photograph of tomato plants grown hydroponically in an ecological aquaculture research train, VT.
 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440
Fig. 16. Flow scheme of Eco-Park proposed for the Intervale Burlington, VT. Illustration by Ian Ambler.

439
440 J. Todd et al. / Ecological Engineering 20 (2003) 421–440

internally, including attached algae turfs and their Executive Director, and the staff at Ocean Arks Inter-
associated communities, floating aquatic plants in- national is deeply appreciated.
cluding Lemna and Azolla, zooplankton, and snails.
External feeds to the system include earthworms and
commercial feeds. These ecosystem based fish cul- References
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Chair of Environmental Studies at Oberlin College, for Todd, N.J., Todd, J., 1994. From Eco-Cities to Living Machines:
his inspiration and leadership. We thank the early ef- Principles of Ecological Design. North Atlantic Books,
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