After working as a community liaison for after school garden programs, a hydroponics and aquaponics research assistant and as a high school agriculture teacher, Amber (Ísponica’s owner) realized she genuinely enjoyed seeing other people’s enthusiasm in growing their own food.

As part of her B.Sc. degree at Georgia Southern University, she studied hydroponic and crayfish aquaponic systems to compare the growth of different varieties of vegetables (shishito peppers, lettuce, basil). During these aquaponics studies, Amber hosted educational tours in the research greenhouse where members of the community could come and learn how to build their own aquaponic systems at home.

In 2021, Amber graduated from Háskólinn á Hólum with her M.Sc. in Aquatic Biology. For her M.Sc., she studied the effects of water quality on the growth of lumpfish in land-based aquaculture systems. Since graduating, Amber has continued to work closely with the university to develop student research projects and encourage positive student experiences. She is assisting in the supervision of university student research projects at Ísponica, in collaboration with Háskólinn á Hólum and other universities. Amber currently works with Háskólinn á Hólum in a mixed position as the international representative and as an assistant teacher in the Department of Aquaculture and Fish Biology.