Students at Silver Sands School, a special day school in Fort Walton Beach serving approximately 100 students with disabilities, participated in the school’s third annual fishing rodeo this week, harvesting tilapia from the school’s aquaponic greenhouse.

• The greenhouse, funded by a grant several years ago, is the only aquaponic system in the district. It uses fish waste to nourish plants, creating a sustainable ecosystem that produces faster-growing crops while teaching students valuable life and job skills.

“Our kids are working on life and job skills,” said Marian Gilmore, the school’s science teacher. “They come in and they check all of our pipes, making sure everything’s running, that the hoses are running, that the fish are getting their air in there.”

Students made their way from their classrooms in small groups to the greenhouse, where they took turns catching fish with fishing poles. Tilapia that were too small to be harvested were placed back into their tank.

• The harvested fish will be used in an upcoming fundraising campaign and fish fry on Nov. 1. Dewey Destin’s Seafood Restaurant will host the event ahead of the Fort Walton Beach High School vs. Crestview High School football game.

Principal Kristin Gilmore emphasized the importance of the greenhouse in providing unique experiences for students. “Our families don’t always have time to expose their kiddos to these sorts of activities,” she said. “This is something they can access easily with the support of our team.”

• Assistant Principal Pamela Tisza highlighted the broader impact of the program. “It teaches them that they can do the same thing at home,” she said. “They get that real-life practice here at school that they wouldn’t get otherwise.”

The school’s aquaponic system not only provides educational opportunities but also produces goods for sale. “We sell to our local co-op. We sell to our staff,” Marian Gilmore explained. “We are going to have a farmer’s market outside our school a couple of days a week.”

As the school looks to the future, there are plans to expand the program. “What I would like to do is do an outdoor greenhouse for more plants,” Gilmore said. This expansion would allow students to learn more about plant propagation and potentially make the program self-sustaining.

The upcoming fish fry fundraiser, now in its third year at this scale, is a collaborative effort with the community. The crew from Dewey Destin’s Restaurant will be frying fish, hush puppies, and french fries at the event.

• “We couldn’t do it without them,” Tisza said, referring to the Destin family’s long-standing support of Silver Sands School. “We appreciate them more than they know.”

Parker Destin, recently elected to the Okaloosa County School Board, emphasized his family’s continued support for Silver Sands School. “We’ve always tried to support Silver Sands School because of the remarkable mission and work and the special students and their families that go there,” Destin said.

• The upcoming fish fry aims to build on last year’s success. “We’re going to be offering fish, french fries, hush puppies, a dessert, and a bottle of water for the low price of $10,” Destin explained. 

“These remarkable teachers, and the kids that they serve, literally are miracle workers,” added Destin. “You can see the good that comes in the lives of these children and their families from the dedicated work that these teachers put into students and they need the resources.”

The fish fry, scheduled for Nov. 1 at 5 p.m., aims to raise funds for the school’s various needs, including the growth house and other areas. The event coincides with the Fort Walton Beach vs. Crestview football game.

As Silver Sands School continues to enrich the lives of its students through innovative programs like the aquaponic greenhouse, it exemplifies how community support and dedicated educators can provide unique learning experiences for students with disabilities.