ON OUR WISH LIST

We’ve been on the hunt for a prototype of DIY Aquaponics: using a slick, mutually beneficial closed-loop system to grow fish, fruit, and vegetables in your backyard. We think combining aquaculture (farming fish for food) and hydroponics (growing plants in water instead of soil) is a perfect way to connect ourselves to the planet without using up its resources.

Employing what amounts to an entire ecosystem, shrunk down to fit into a pond in your own backyard, this idea provides an opportunity to grow almost all of your own food. If you’ve got any great ideas, post them at craftzine.com/09/treehugger, or forums.treehugger.com/craftzine.

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that’s encouraging people all over the world to start their own annual event (Figure C). David Graas came up with the clever finish-it-yourself stool. Made from cardboard and delivered in an ingenious flat package that turns into the stool itself, it’s a blank canvas begging to be embellished (Figure D). If you’re ready to really take the DIY spirit to the next level, download the design specs available at craftzine.com/go/stool and do a little rapid prototyping of your own. Scrapile ( scrapile.com) is the collaboration between designers Bart Bettencourt and Carlos Salgado, who work together to create modern furniture from scraps of wood they collect from local woodshops in Brooklyn. Thanks to their evolving process that never employs the same materials twice, each piece is uniquely crafted and has an original backstory (Figure E). Jo Meesters ( jomeesters.nl) is a Dutch designer creating singular objects from green materials. Meesters combines technology and craftsmanship with a balance between aesthetics and innovation (Figure F). Using techniques that range from sandblasting to traditional needlework, Meesters creates unique objects without being kitschy or overdone. ×

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Discovery Communications’ Planet Green is a media destination with a mission. With the first 24-hour eco-lifestyle TV network and companion website, it aims to document, preserve, and celebrate the planet. TreeHugger — part of the Planet Green family — is a popular site for cutting-edge green news and views, and is dedicated to driving modern sustainability into the mainstream. planetgreen.discovery.com

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