project green wave

Welcome to our Project Green Wave! This is where we tinker, experiment and brainstorm new ways to sustainably grow, harvest and transport food.

With the help of a zany network of DIY mad scientists, “energy extraction specialists,” welders and designers this is where we take wrong turns, accidentally blow things up and every once in awhile stumble into innovation.  If you want to support one of our ongoing projects, scroll to the end of the page and click Donate.

Here are a few of the projects we’re working on:

Solar Refrigeration: After reading through a couple issues of MAKE magazine — the bible of the DIY community — we decided that we could design our own mobile solar refrigeration system on the cheap. The fridge/freezers most of us use in our homes suck up a ton of electricity. But recently reefer technology has begun to change — largely because the military has decided it’s in their best interest to go green.  Continue reading…

Invasive Species Cooking and Gardening: Last year we began working with Bun Lai, a world famous sustainable seafood cook, to find invasive species that he could serve at his restaurant, including Asian shore crabs for his renowned “Kanibaba dish.”  Now we’re trying to figure out how to make use of starfish. Starfish are oyster serial killers: They have almost no natural predators — seagulls won’t even eat them — and they can wipe out hundreds of oysters in a matter of days. A few months ago we were reading up on the French oyster industry and stumbled on a reference to French wineries using ground up starfish as fertilizer.

Turns out that ground up starfish offer up just the right mix of nutrients to grow a glamorous and delicious grape. So now we’re Clinton-based Chamard Vinyards to revive this honored French tradition of re-purposing invasive species for organic wine production.

Community Supported Fisheries Program: Thimble Island Oyster Co. has teamed up with Miya’s Sushi Restaurant to create the first CSF in Connecticut. Modeled on land-based CSAs, we’ve created a way for local residents to eat local, help restore the shoreline’s ocean ecosystem, and support local shellfish farmers. Modeled on land-based CSA’s, this is the first ocean-based CSF program in CT history, dedicated to producing fresh, organic, and sustainable seafood for our local community.  For a purchased share of Thimble Island Oyster Co, CSF members will receive one dozen oysters and two dozen clams each month for 6 months — harvested the morning of delivery.  And we’re working on adding mussels and scallops to our ocean “bread basket” for next year. Member sign up and background info is available here.

Education: We maintain a close working relationship with the Yale Sustainable Food Project and Farm. Each year we take Yale interns out to learn about ocean farming. Here’s a blog post by the students on this summer’s trip out to the farm.

Nitrogen Trading Program: We have teamed up with environmentalist to advocate for an expansion of the state’s existing nitrogen credit trading program to include shellfish farms, thereby reimbursing oystermen for the nitrogen they filter from Long Island Sound each year. With new oyster operations sprouting up all around the country, rewarding “green fishermen” for the positive effect their farms have on the environment could be a model for how to stimulate job growth while saving the planet.

Solar Powered Oyster Boat: This one is our most ambitious — and expensive — DIY projects. We’re in the planning phases of figuring out how to turn our oyster boat into a solar oyster boat. We’re working with a local “energy extraction” engineer and learning from some folks associated with Make Magazine and Instructables to explore what’s the best and most affordable way to go green.  As a fellow land-based farmer from Wisconsin recently emailed: “You mention electric power… it seems like a boat, with virtually unlimited weight carrying capacity and which sits out in the open sun all the time but used only occasionally would be a perfect platform for solar electric propulsion.” We can’t wait to see fleets of solar powered boats on Long Island Sound!

In the meantime, we’re working with the EPA and USDA to get our outboard engines up to the highest efficiency standards. They’re looking into whether to give us an EQIP grant that will make it possible for us to switch from our 1980 150HP to a Tier 4 certified Mercury. Yeah EPA! for helping out the small organic ocean farmers…

Thimble Island Oyster Office: For the first couple years while we set up our farm we were dirt poor. Instead of paying rent, we bought an old 1961 Airstream for $700 and fixed her up as a living space.  For 5 years we had no running water, no indoor plumbing and intermittent heat. Hard living!  Now that we’re moved into nicer digs, we use the Airstream as our oyster “headquarters” and workshop. We have half of our lights and electronics running off of solar panels — and we’re saving up some money to pull her off the grid completely.

Donate: If you want to support any of our Green Wave projects, just follow the Donate button below. Thanks!