POCATELLO – A local nonprofit seeks to build a two-acre aquaponic greenhouse near Pocatello to help fund the group and demonstrate the system's sustainability and high production, said Scott Richardson, CEO of Tree of Life Organics.

An aquaponic greenhouse combines growing plants and typically fish in a largely self-sustaining cycle in which the plants use nitrogen from fish waste to grow in the water and, along with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, help clean the water for the fish.

Aquaponics uses just 10 percent of the water needed for traditional farming and requires no chemicals, according to Richardson. And yields are much higher.

“With this technology, we can produce six-to-eight times the yield as compared to more traditional farming," Richardson said.

Currently, the group seeks to raise $1.3 million for land just outside Pocatello. And they're working with  greenhouse architects and aquaponics professionals to finalize the greenhouse's cutting-edge design.

Initially the greenhouse would produce lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries and herbs. But these crops could change depending on what fresh produce the local community likes to have year-round.

All of Tree of Life's earnings would go to additional research, paying laborers and building more greenhouses. He said every third greenhouse would be built for free to a community overseas where hunger is rampant.

“We will use the money earned from selling inexpensive, organic produce to build more greenhouses near or in major population centers in the United States and impoverished nations," he said.

He added that side earnings will pay to keep these facilities operational and assist in education programs for the local communities in the U.S. and overseas.

“We also want to educate local farmers on the advantages of this new agricultural system,” Richardson said.

Richardson, 29, is a one-time physics student at Idaho State University in Pocatello. But he saw a need for better ways to feed a world population expected to climb past 8 billion by 2050.

"We have to find new ways to sustain our food levels to feed this increase," he said.

To find out more about the fundraising efforts of this organization, visit http://www.treeoflifeorganics.org/ or Google “Tree Of Life Organics Pocatello.”