The Ocean Reef Group launched the project called Nemo’s Garden to experiment with food supply diversity as a plan to combat the adverse effects of climate change. The six air-filled greenhouses suffered significant storm damage in October 2019 and had been on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After the restoration of the greenhouses, the garden was fully operational on June 6th, including their livestream where one can watch the plants grow. The biospheres, which sit eight meters under the surface off the coast of Noli in Liguria, use solar energy for their electrical needs and evaporate seawater condenses on the glass of the ceiling, which in turn waters the plants. A diver swims under and up into the air pocket of the pod to harvest the ripe produce.
The conditions create an intense flavour in the vegetables and also allow the plants’ environment to be completely controlled. For now, Nemo’s Garden is essentially a research lab, but if the idea were expanded, it’s expected to be able to reinforce food security for the peninsula and the world.
