A group of elementary students gathered around teacher Jill Ryan in the science lab at St. Jude of the Lake Catholic School in Mahtomedi Feb. 12. After listening to her instructions, they joined in a loud cheer to kick off their classwork:

“One, two, three — aquaponics!”

A word perhaps unfamiliar to other students their age, this term to describe a modern farming concept excites and motivates St. Jude students — and keeps them eagerly coming to class every day.

That enthusiasm was evident during class as they scurried with purpose to various parts of the lab, using notebooks and laptops to record data centering on the growth of two organisms — fish and vegetables.

In a tank as high as some of the students’ foreheads, more than 100 tilapia swam freely, with students gathered around to net them, measure them and gingerly return them to water designed and treated for optimal growth.

This is the centerpiece of a $7,500 grant procured by Ryan and the school last summer, funding both the fish tank and nearby rectangular rafts used to grow lettuce, beans, peppers and herbs. Together, they form an aquaponics system that students and teachers hope will result in a fish fry at the end of the school year. The vegetables will be served in the school cafeteria and donated to a food shelf the parish supports.

It’s part of an overall effort to offer unique learning opportunities for children and better prepare them for the world they will face as adults, not to mention boost enrollment in the school. Three years ago, when Carrie Hackman became principal, there were 37 students in the pre-kindergarten to fifth-grade school, which only a few years earlier had its middle school closed. Now, there are 75, and each of them will spend time in the second-floor science lab working with the aquaponics system throughout the school year.

“We hope it’ll be around for a very long time,” Hackman said of the aquaponics system. “We’ve invested a lot into it. We’re growing the opportunity, pun intended.”

Ryan, her husband, Derek, and their three boys assembled the system in August, with hoses connecting the tank and rafts. More than 100 gallons of water circulate between them daily, with waste from the fish fertilizing the plants, and the plants purifying the water that returns to the fish tank.

The tilapia arrived in early September, joining another separate tank in the classroom filled with trout donated by Trout Unlimited. Science classes feature multiple grade levels, with the fifth-graders leading the way. The goal is for every student to be well versed in aquaponics. Also found in the science lab is a turtle named Nick that students are able to feed and handle, plus planters along the wall that grow vegetables in the conventional manner.

“It’s such a great hands-on experience for the kids,” Ryan said. “I think it (aquaponics) is good for everybody to know about. This could be the future of farming.”

It also could be the future of education. Some fifth-graders at St. Jude will move on to Hill-Murray School in Maplewood, which also has an aquaponics system. Grace Clark, one of the St. Jude students headed to Hill-Murray for sixth grade in the fall, said she is considering a career in aquaponics.

“I really like that we’re growing all this cool food and how we get to eat it when it’s all done growing,” she said. “I like how I get to come into school every day and I get all excited about the aquaponics system.”

Fifth-grader James Gonzalez said his favorite part is testing the water of the tilapia tank for substances such as nitrate, nitrite and ammonia. He likes fishing and is looking forward to the opportunity to try some classroom-raised tilapia, which by then should be about the size of an adult human hand.

“I hope they taste good,” he said.

Hackman said she likes coming to the lab, something all teachers in the school do occasionally throughout the year. During class Feb. 12, she helped one student measure the growth of lettuce plants.

“I look at all of this and I think it’s pure joy — and it’s beauty,” she said. “I love watching them up there (in the science lab). It’s one of my favorite things to do. … I’m up there every day.”

Ryan doesn’t have set times for her students to go from her normal classroom on the first floor to the science lab on the second floor. Sometimes, she surprises them by closing her door and placing a sign on the outside that reads: “Meet in the Science Lab.”

“The kids know it’s a science lab morning and they are so excited,” she said. “They run up here, put their stuff in their locker and come right in here. … They know the drill.”

Along the way, faith lessons are taught, which center on God’s creation and being stewards of what he has made. It all adds up to one simple reality for students and staff.

“This is these kids’ happy place,” Hackman said. “It’s also our happy place.”