Forest Academy (森·學院) Aquaponics STEAM Course — Hong Kong Secondary School IT Innovation Lab

Summary

Forest Academy (森·學院) is a Hong Kong education provider whose aquaponics course is delivered under the "中學IT創新實驗室" (Secondary School IT Innovation Lab) funding scheme, active since about 2021. The published course outline maps aquaponics onto each STEAM letter: Science (water testing, fish-waste-to-nutrient chemistry), Technology (system components, nitrogen cycle), Engineering (a tabletop "Potti" system build and siphon principles), and Math (fluid dynamics and siphon calculations). It includes detailed bell-siphon engineering instructions — PVC dimensions and vacuum mechanics — for tidal flood-drain control, plus fish-species selection guidance, a system-performance review, and a competition/showcase component. The conceptual sequencing is clear (theory, build, monitor, showcase), making it an off-the-shelf STEAM course for Hong Kong secondary schools, a maker-lab engineering module, or an inter-school competition format. Delivery is provider-led under school IT Lab budgets, though DIY replication of the published designs is low-cost.

Guiding Principles

• STEM Integration — an explicit S/T/E/M decomposition of aquaponics makes standards alignment straightforward.
• Youth Empowerment — secondary students build, monitor, review, and showcase their own systems, with a competition component.
• Transferable Skills — the published bell-siphon engineering specs (PVC dimensions, vacuum mechanics) are directly reusable in other builds; the course connects to Hong Kong's IT Innovation Lab policy funding stream.

Learning Outcomes & Transferable Skills

Learners gain Biology and Water Chemistry (nitrogen cycle, water testing), Systems Thinking (flood-drain tidal control, system-performance review), and applied mathematics (fluid dynamics, siphon calculations), plus Sustainability Literacy through the course's sustainable-living and life-education framing.

How to Replicate or Build On It

1. Study the published course page for the full STEAM mapping and session flow.
2. Reuse the published bell-siphon engineering specs (PVC dimensions, vacuum mechanics) to build a tabletop "Potti" flood-drain system.
3. Follow the course's fish-species selection guidance and system-performance review steps.
4. Hong Kong schools can engage the provider directly under the IT Innovation Lab scheme, or add a competition/showcase component as an inter-school format.

Considerations & Constraints

• Cost: Provider-delivered (fee-based under school IT Lab budgets); DIY replication is low-cost.
• Skill Level: Aimed at secondary students; teachers can outsource delivery to the provider.
• Space/Climate: Tabletop ("Potti") scale upward; indoor/outdoor flexible.
• Tools Required: PVC parts and basic plumbing for the bell siphon, a pump, and a tabletop grow system.
• Ongoing Maintenance: Moderate — a living aquaponics system with fish needs routine feeding and water-quality checks.
• Access Barriers: A commercial provider — openness is limited to what is published on the course page; materials are in Traditional Chinese.

Prerequisites

Basic secondary science; no aquaponics background assumed. Hong Kong schools can fund delivery through the IT Innovation Lab scheme.

Primary Source

https://www.forest-academy.com/%E9%AD%9A%E8%8F%9C%E5%85%B1%E7%94%9F (course page, Traditional Chinese)