Portrait
Name
Accessible Solar Greenhouse
Tianna Philippot
Rural Manitoba
Description
Tianna grew up in rural Manitoba (Treaty 1, homeland of the Red River Métis Nation) which provided her with an appreciation for nature at a young age. She is a proud Red River Métis woman with European ancestry and largely credits her connection with the environment to her Indigenous Identity. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Biosystems Engineering with an Environmental Specialization and a minor in Agribusiness at the University of Manitoba in 2021. Motivated to work with Indigenous communities and environmental systems, she joined Urban Systems as an Engineer-in-Training (EIT) in 2021 after completing a Clean Energy Co-op in 2020. She believes we can build a more climate resilient world by “seeing through both eyes”: using the combination of Western science and Indigenous knowledge. When she is not working, Tianna enjoys being outdoors, exploring new places, gardening and spending time with her family and friends.
Tianna is passionate about connecting community to accessible and sustainable agriculture. This led her to her ImaGENation project idea to pursue a wheelchair accessible greenhouse that operates on clean energy. The greenhouse involves a smart vertical farming system in a repurposed SECAN container that utilizes clean energy. The self-contained vertical farm will be transportable to different communities and will be designed with wheelchair users in mind. The project will analyze and compare the efficiency of various types of clean energy to effectively operate a hydroponic system year-round for the Manitoba climate. The indoor vertical farm aims to demonstrate the interconnected relationship of food and energy sovereignty and the positive impact of localizing our food source. The accessible greenhouse will be a healing space to reconnect people with plants and medicines, and encourage excitement about growing food year round and off-grid.
The Accessible Solar Greenhouse requires mentorship expertise & services in the following areas of clean energy: Community Engagement, Networking, Technical Specifics, Fundraising, Research & Development. If you are interested in supporting this project, please submit an Expression of Interest form here.