John Todd (Canadian Biologist)
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John Todd (born 1939) is a Canadian
biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...
working in the general field of
ecological design Ecological design or ecodesign is an approach to designing products and services that gives special consideration to the environmental impacts of a product over its entire lifecycle. Sim Van der Ryn and Stuart Cowan define it as "any form of d ...
. He addresses problems of
food production The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the World population, world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from sm ...
and
wastewater Wastewater (or waste water) is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of do ...
processing by using ecosystems technologies that incorporate plants, animals and bacteria. Todd has developed "Arks" or "bioshelters", ecologically closed "life-support systems" with the goal of sustainable functioning. He combines alternative technologies for
renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
,
organic farming Organic farming, also known as organic agriculture or ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2024 on organic production and labelling of ...
,
aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...
,
hydroponics Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of #Passive sub-irrigation, hydroculture which involves growing plants, usually crops or medicinal plants, without soil, by using water-based mineral Plant nutrition, nutrient Solution (chemi ...
and
architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
to create "living machines" or "eco-machines". John Todd is a co-founder with Nancy Jack Todd of the non-profits
New Alchemy Institute The New Alchemy Institute (NAI) was an American research center that did pioneering investigation into organic agriculture, aquaculture and bioshelter design between 1969 and 1991. The Green Center was established as a non-profit educational orga ...
(1969–1991) and Ocean Arks International (1981), and the founder and president of the design and engineering firm John Todd Ecological Design Inc. (1989). A research professor emeritus and distinguished lecturer at the
University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...
, Todd has published books on ecological design, as well as over 200 scientific papers, popular articles and essays.


Early life and education

Todd was born in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Canada in 1939 and grew up near Hamilton Bay on
Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...
. The area near his home included marshes and streams which were being badly damaged by pollution. The writings of
Louis Bromfield Louis Bromfield (December 27, 1896 – March 18, 1956) was an American writer and conservationist. A bestselling novelist in the 1920s, he reinvented himself as a farmer in the late 1930s and became one of the earliest proponents of sustainabl ...
offered Todd a "marvelous tale of hope" about the possibility of land restoration. Todd earned his B.Sc. (1961) in agriculture and his M.Sc. (1963) in
parasitology Parasitology is the study of parasites, their host (biology), hosts, and the relationship between them. As a List of biology disciplines, biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in questio ...
and
tropical medicine Tropical medicine is an interdisciplinary branch of medicine that deals with health issues that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or are more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions. Physicians in this field diagnose and tr ...
at
McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, Canada. He then did doctoral work in
marine biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and ...
at the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
, studying
fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...
and
oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of to ...
. His early professional interest in the
behavioral ecology Behavioral ecology, also spelled behavioural ecology, is the study of the evolutionary basis for ethology, animal behavior due to ecology, ecological pressures. Behavioral ecology emerged from ethology after Niko Tinbergen outlined Tinbergen's f ...
of fish was the basis of his work as an assistant professor of
ethology Ethology is a branch of zoology that studies the behavior, behaviour of non-human animals. It has its scientific roots in the work of Charles Darwin and of American and German ornithology, ornithologists of the late 19th and early 20th cen ...
at
San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...
(1968–1970).


Career

John Todd joined the
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, acronym pronounced ) is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering. Established in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it i ...
in
Woods Hole, Massachusetts Woods Hole is a census-designated place in the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies at the extreme southwestern corner of Cape Cod, near Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. The population was 78 ...
, as an assistant scientist in 1970. At Woods Hole, John Todd began to develop his ideas about how complicated biological food chains worked. An important influence on Todd's thinking was his wife, Nancy Jack Todd, a dancer, writer, editor and activist. In their conversations Nancy wondered if ecological concepts could be applied to address people's needs. She encouraged John Todd to put "a human face" on his research. Since then, the couple have edited and co-written several books, and are co-recipients of a number of awards.


New Alchemy Institute

In 1969 the Todds and William O. McLarney co-founded the
New Alchemy Institute The New Alchemy Institute (NAI) was an American research center that did pioneering investigation into organic agriculture, aquaculture and bioshelter design between 1969 and 1991. The Green Center was established as a non-profit educational orga ...
in
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
to "engage in scientific research in the public interest on ecologically and behaviourally planned agriculture systems and rural land based communities." The institute was a "fusion of technology and counterculture". Its members proposed to apply principles and design strategies from the biological sciences to
technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...
in ways that would be economically and environmentally sustainable. Although the New Alchemy Institute dissolved in 1991, it has been described as "a catalyst of change promoting the development of new ecological design solutions, alternative technologies and methods of ecological food production and waste treatment." One of the approaches they developed was the concept of bioshelters, "greenhouse-like architectural structures containing ecosystems for various purposes: food for humans, waste purification systems, etc."
Wendell Berry Wendell Erdman Berry (born August 5, 1934) is an American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. Closely identified with rural Kentucky, Berry developed many of his agrarian themes in the early essays o ...
wrote admiringly: "The bioshelter idea, then, proposes to make a household on the pattern of an ecosystem, adapted to the local landscape and climate, using local materials... Its governing principle is symbiosis: the food production system heats the house; the fish tanks raise fish, heat the greenhouse, provide irrigation water and fertilizer for the plants." The idea that the wastes created in one part of a system provide valuable resources for another part of the system is fundamental to the design of such sustainable ecosystems.


Ocean Arks International

In 1981, Todd co-founded the non-profit Ocean Arks International (OAI). The original idea behind Ocean Arks was to build wind-powered vessels capable of carrying ecological materials and support technologies, for use in countries throughout the developing world. Such a vision was beyond the reach of the organization. Todd began to focus on other concerns relating to water, in particular the development of alternative approaches to conventional waste treatment. He applied ideas from aquaculture and organic agriculture to wastewater. His approach was to identify ecological pathways through which nutrients from waste could be recycled. Waste from one organism could become a food source for subsequent organisms, instead of being discarded as an unusable and toxic by-product. The first "Solar Aquatics System" (SAS) for wastewater treatment was an experimental pilot at the Sugarbush Ski resort near
Warren, Vermont Warren is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,977 at the 2020 census. The center of population of Vermont is located in Warren. It is set between the two ranges of the Green Mountains, with approximately 2 ...
, around 1986. During the 1990s, Todd was involved in several attempts to start companies for the technologies he envisioned. The personnel, financing and technologies involved in these companies overlap in complicated and confusing ways, with each other and with Ocean Arks International. The term "Living Machines" was filed for registration as a
wordmark A wordmark or word mark is a text-only statement of the name of a product, service, company, organization, or institution which is used for purposes of identification and branding. A wordmark can be an actual word (e.g., Apple), a made-up term ...
in 1991, and was registered to Ocean Arks International in 1993 by the
United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency in the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark ...
.


Ecological Engineering Associates, Inc.

Ecological Engineering Associates, Inc. (EEA) was founded in
Marion, Massachusetts Marion is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,347 at the 2020 census. For geographic and demographic information on the village of Marion Center, please see the article Mar ...
in 1988 as a commercial venture to more effectively promote the work of Ocean Arks International. Susan B. Peterson, previously an employee of OAI, became EEA's first president. Co-founder John Todd preferred not to serve on its board, but was involved as an "ecological designer". EEA designed and installed a wastewater plant to remediate
septage Fecal sludge management (FSM) (or faecal sludge management in British English) is the storage, collection, transport, treatment and safe end use or disposal of fecal sludge. Together, the collection, transport, treatment and end use of fecal slud ...
lagoons at
Harwich, Massachusetts Harwich ( ) is a New England town on Cape Cod, in Barnstable County in the state of Massachusetts in the United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 13,440. Harwich experiences a seasonal increase to roughly 37,000. The town is a ...
(see below). Work began in 1988, and the system became operational in 1990. EEA developed several other projects, using transparent water columns for treatment units in its "solar aquatic systems". Patents for processes relating to solar aquatics were filed under the inventor names of John Todd and Barry Silverstein in 1988 and 1991, and granted to EEA. EEA registered the trademark "Solar Aquatic" specifically for waste treatment tanks with transparent water columns.


Living Technologies Inc.

Todd also co-founded Living Technologies Inc. (LTI), an ecological design, engineering, and construction company, in
Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...
. It was incorporated as a company on October 26, 1994, in the state of Florida. Some of the personnel involved in Living Technologies, including president Michael Shaw, had connections to OAI and to a prior company called Advanced Greenhouse Systems (AGS) which had been established in 1989 by William Rapp, also in Burlington Vermont. Two patents for Ecological Fluidized Beds (EFB) were filed by John Todd and Michael Shaw in 1993 and 1995. The patents were granted to OAI in 1996 and 1997. EFBs were used in the design of what were increasingly referred to as living machines. In 1997, Living Technologies Inc. sought a second round of funding, which it obtained from
Tom Worrell Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...
. In 1998, there was considerable reorganization of the company and its board. Worrell assumed ownership of the company in 1999 and acquired the rights to the original patents for Todd's "Living Machine". As of December 2000, in an out-of-court settlement, Worrell obtained the sole right to use "Living Machine" as a proprietary term. Worrell's company went through a number of name changes and relocations. Worrell Water Technologies, LLC of
Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...
currently holds the registered trademark for the name
Living Machine A Living Machine is a form of ecological sewage treatment based on fixed-film ecology. The Living Machine system was commercialized and is marketed by Living Machine Systems, L3C, a corporation based in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. ...
. Worrell Water Technologies has redesigned Todd's original systems and patented a number of new technologies since 2002.


John Todd Ecological Design Inc.

In 1989, Todd incorporated "John Todd Research and Design" in
Falmouth, Massachusetts Falmouth ( ) is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 32,517 at the 2020 census, making Falmouth the second-largest municipality on Cape Cod after Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable. T ...
. It later became "John Todd Ecological Design" (JTED). Through this company, Todd has developed his own later-generation wastewater treatment systems, under the name "Eco-machines". As of 2014, John Todd Ecological Design registered the trademark for the term "Eco-machines". Todd's son, Jonathan Todd, is the president of John Todd Ecological Design.


University of Vermont

Todd taught at the
University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...
as a guest lecturer beginning in 1997. He became a research professor in 1999. He is now a research professor emeritus and distinguished lecturer.


Ecological design

Todd and his colleagues were some of the first people to actually create miniature ecosystems, largely self-perpetuating, which applied ecological principles to address human needs. Todd's approach is one of
biomimicry Biomimetics or biomimicry is the emulation of the models, systems, and elements of nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems. The terms "biomimetics" and "biomimicry" are derived from (''bios''), life, and μίμησις ('' mīm ...
, in which a complex natural ecosystem such as a
marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
is studied, recreated and adapted. Learning from the natural system, the ecological designer combines micro-organisms, fish, and plants into a functionally complex system that is capable of carrying out tasks such as
bioremediation Bioremediation broadly refers to any process wherein a biological system (typically bacteria, microalgae, fungi in mycoremediation, and plants in phytoremediation), living or dead, is employed for removing environmental pollutants from air, wate ...
and
phytoremediation Phytoremediation technologies use living plants to clean up soil, air and water contaminated with hazardous contaminants. It is defined as "the use of green plants and the associated microorganisms, along with proper soil amendments and agronom ...
. Todd emphasized the importance of establishing an ecosystem with a large number of diverse species and then allowing it to "settle" to a stable state, a process that could take weeks, months, or even years. He recommended seeding the ecosystem with local species, ones that had already demonstrated an ability to withstand conditions in the target environment. He sought to create systems that were capable of self-organizing and displaying emergent properties. Such systems are of necessity complex and cannot be well understood in terms of simple reductionism. Todd has applied these ideas in various ways, to create types of applications including "bioshelters" or "arks", "ecological treatment systems" (ETS), "advanced ecologically engineered systems" (AEES) "living machines", and "eco-machines".


Water

This work has resulted in innovative new approaches to processing
wastewater Wastewater (or waste water) is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of do ...
and
sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewerage, sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged fro ...
. Todd and colleagues developed what they called " living machines". These systems are ecologically engineered technologies developed to restore, conserve, or remediate polluted water, by replicating and accelerating the natural purification processes of
stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...
s,
pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...
s and
marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
es. In practical application, a living machine is a self-contained treatment system designed to treat a specific waste stream using the principles of ecological engineering. It does this by creating diverse communities of bacteria and other microorganisms, algae, plants, trees, snails, fish and other living creatures in a series of tanks. The EPA has concluded that this approach is appropriate to the treatment of municipal and some industrial types of wastewater, and that it can be competitive in cost compared to more conventional systems.


Sewage

Greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...
waste treatment plants such as the ones John Todd has developed can yield clean water from sewage.
Bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...
consume the organic sewage and turn
ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...
into
nitrate Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . salt (chemistry), Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are solubility, soluble in wa ...
s. The nitrates are used as food for algae and fertilizer for
duckweed Lemnoideae is a subfamily of flowering aquatic plants, known as duckweeds, water lentils, or water lenses. They float on or just beneath the surface of still or slow-moving bodies of fresh water and wetlands. Also known as bayroot, they arose fr ...
.
Zooplankton Zooplankton are the heterotrophic component of the planktonic community (the " zoo-" prefix comes from ), having to consume other organisms to thrive. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequent ...
and snails consume the
algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...
. Fish eat the zooplankton. Floating plants soak up the leftovers.
Bulrush Bulrush is a vernacular name for several large wetland graminoid, grass-like plants *Sedge family (Cyperaceae): **''Cyperus'' **''Scirpus'' **''Blysmus'' **''Bolboschoenus'' **''Scirpoides'' **''Isolepis'' **''Schoenoplectus'' **''Trichophorum'' ...
es,
cattail ''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrushStreeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. ...
s, and
water hyacinth ''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth, is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive species, invasive outside its native rang ...
s render the toxins harmless. Trees absorb
heavy metals upright=1.2, Crystals of lead.html" ;"title="osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead Heavy metals is a controversial and ambiguous term for metallic elements with relatively h ...
. The byproducts are decorative plants and
minnow Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genus, genera of the family Cyprinidae and in particular the subfamily Leuciscinae. They are also known in Ireland as wikt:pinkeen, pinkeens. While ...
s, both of which are sold. The minnows are sold as bait fish. Aquatic plants, raised in the system's open-air lagoons for sewer treatment, are used in California, Florida, and Mississippi. By enclosing such a system within a greenhouse, it becomes possible to do this in the colder northern climates as well.


Projects

Todd's waste treatment systems have been implemented for sites in at least nine countries, in both the industrialized and developing world. Sites include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czechoslovakia, England, Hungary, India, Scotland, and the United States. A number of projects have been particularly noteworthy because of the introduction of new concepts or major achievements.


The Cape Cod Ark

Soon after its founding in 1969, the New Alchemy Institute began to develop its first experimental environment, eventually known as the "Cape Cod Ark", at their headquarters in
Falmouth, Massachusetts Falmouth ( ) is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 32,517 at the 2020 census, making Falmouth the second-largest municipality on Cape Cod after Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable. T ...
on
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...
. Their goals were to process wastewater and to explore the potential for food production. A series of solar ponds, each with its own ecosystem, processes wastewater and uses recaptured materials to farm fish and to grow vegetables and fruits. These include papaya trees, eggplants, tomatoes, and herbs. Computers were introduced to monitor and study the processes of remediation, energy use, and food production. Heating and electricity needs were met using renewable energy sources. The system was enclosed within a greenhouse, designed by architects Sean Wellesley-Miller and Day Chahroudi, so that it could operate year-round. When the New Alchemy Institute dissolved in 1991, the Cape Cod Ark became the property of a private co-housing community. In 1999, it was taken over by Hilde Maingay and Earle Barnhart, two of the co-founders of the New Alchemy Institute. Working with architect Ate Atema, they upgraded the structure and added an energy-efficient house to the original greenhouse. Under their care, the 1800 square feet Ark became a self-sustaining home, supporting humans, plants, fishes and animals year-round. The Cape Cod Ark was still their home as of 2021. Having provided both an experimental testbed for New Alchemy's ideas, and a sustainable home for two of its founding members for over 15 years, the Cape Cod Ark has been referred to as "New Alchemy’s crowning achievement".


The Prince Edward Island Ark

In 1974 Todd returned to Canada to design and build "An ARK for P.E.I." at Spry Point, Kings County on
Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...
, with financial support from the federal and provincial governments. Completed by David Bergmark and Ole Hammarlund of Solsearch Architects and the New Alchemy Institute, the Ark gained national attention. It was officially opened by Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...
on September 21, 1976. The Ark was an attempt to re-examine the relationship between people and nature. It also gave the New Alchemists an opportunity to test their ideas in a very cold climate. Differing expectations about the project caused difficulties. Because the experimental nature of the Ark had been de-emphasized, the technological problems that occurred became particularly embarrassing. Also, many Canadians expected the publicly funded installation to be viewable as a demonstration project for renewable energy and
sustainable living Sustainable living describes a lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle that attempts to reduce the use of Earth's natural resources by an individual or society. Its practitioners often attempt to reduce their ecological footprint (including their carbo ...
. In contrast, the New Alchemists onsite saw it as a private research installation and tried to discourage visitors. In 1977, New Alchemists David Bergmark and Nancy Willis moved out, ending the experiment in sustainable living. The Ark was supervised for two more years by Ken MacKay, a biologist hired by the provincial government's Institute of Man and Resources (IMR), and then closed in 1981. Nonetheless, the Ark was an important test bed for many of the principles that were later applied to "living machines", as well as a number of trail-blazing and now established green or sustainable technologies: solar orientation, solar collectors,
wind energy Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ...
,
thermal energy storage Thermal energy storage (TES) is the storage of thermal energy for later reuse. Employing widely different technologies, it allows surplus thermal energy to be stored for hours, days, or months. Scale both of storage and use vary from small t ...
, and
composting toilets A composting toilet is a type of dry toilet that treats human waste by a biological process called composting. This process leads to the decomposition of organic matter and turns human waste into compost-like material. Composting is carried out b ...
. Historian Henry Trim emphasizes the Ark's impact on Canadian culture, helping "to introduce Canadians to renewable energy and organic foods as well as pioneering green architecture, aquaponics, and sustainable farming." Although it was demolished in 2000, the Ark has been called one of "Prince Edward Island’ s two most iconic works of modern architecture". In 2016, it was commemorated in the exhibit ''Living lightly on the earth: building an Ark for Prince Edward Island, 1974-76'' at the
Confederation Centre of the Arts Confederation Centre of the Arts () is a cultural centre dedicated to the visual arts, visual and performing arts located in the city of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. History Construction of Confederation Centre, as it is commonly ...
in
Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...
, P.E.I.


Harwich, Massachusetts

In 1988, the town of
Harwich, Massachusetts Harwich ( ) is a New England town on Cape Cod, in Barnstable County in the state of Massachusetts in the United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 13,440. Harwich experiences a seasonal increase to roughly 37,000. The town is a ...
hosted a four-month pilot of one of Todd's lagoon systems, involving 21 solar aquatic ponds and a constructed marsh. The pilot's success encouraged further involvement with Ecological Engineering Associates. For Todd, it was a "watershed moment", an important proof of concept for the ecological design approach. "After the successful first trials, I knew that it was possible to do good things in bad places; in short, to heal the planet." By 1990 a full-scale project was being planned for Harwich's Flax Pond, a 15-acre site. The pond suffered from significant contamination due to
leachates A leachate is any liquid that, in the course of passing through matter, extracts soluble or suspended solids, or any other component of the material through which it has passed. Leachate is a widely used term in the environmental sciences whe ...
from a nearby
landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...
and
septage Fecal sludge management (FSM) (or faecal sludge management in British English) is the storage, collection, transport, treatment and safe end use or disposal of fecal sludge. Together, the collection, transport, treatment and end use of fecal slud ...
lagoons. Oxygen levels in the water were low and
coliform bacteria Coliform bacteria are defined as either motile or non-motile Gram-negative non- spore forming bacilli that possess β-galactosidase to produce acids and gases under their optimal growth temperature of 35–37 °C. They can be aerobes or ...
counts were high. Sediment deposits included high levels of
ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...
, up to 300 times the usual levels of
phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...
, and 80 times the usual concentration of
iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
. A floating construction called a Pond Restorer was completed in 1992. Using a windmill and solar panels as energy sources, it drew up 100,000 gallons of water per day from the bottom of the pond. The water was sent through a series of columns involving a variety of substrates, bacterial and mineral amendments, freshwater clams, and terrestrial plants. A positive oxygen regime was restored to the bottom of the pond, and sediment depth was significantly reduced by 1995. In the later 1990s, the design was modified to create an "advanced ecologically engineered system" (AEES). Large reductions in phosphorus, ammonia, and iron occurred between 1999 and 2001. Beginning in June 2001, the original structure was replaced with the first large-scale wastewater application of floating AEES Restorers. Twelve Restorers are arranged across the lagoon, in a pattern designed to promote a serpentine water flow. The installation incorporates 25,000 plants from 25 native species to remediate waste.


Findhorn Ecovillage, Moray, Scotland

The first "Living Machine" was created at
Findhorn Ecovillage Findhorn Ecovillage, known in the past as the Findhorn Community, and also referred to as Ecovillage Findhorn, is an experimental and utopian community project based at The Park, in Moray, Scotland, near the village of Findhorn focused on ecol ...
in Moray, Scotland in 1995. For its design, John Todd drew on the work of Käthe Seidel and H.T. Odum. The system had to accommodate wastewater from an ongoing population of about 300 residents, and a seasonally fluctuating population of as many as 10,000 visitors per year. The resulting installation resembles a tropical conservatory garden. Every organism provides food for the next step in the food chain until the cycle is complete. As a first-generation system, the Findhorn installation has undergone numerous changes. During its first fifteen years of operation it passed regular quality checks from the
Scottish Environment Protection Agency The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA; ) is Scotland's Environmental regulation, environmental regulator and national flood forecasting, flood warning and strategic flood risk management authority.


South Burlington, Vermont

The Vermont Advanced Ecologically Engineered System (AEES) was one of four AEES demonstration projects created with funding from the
United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...
. The site in Chittenden County, near
South Burlington, Vermont South Burlington is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Along with neighboring Burlington, it is a principal city of the Burlington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 20,292, making it the sec ...
, was owned by the Massachusetts Institute for Excellence in Marine and Polymer Sciences, who received the grant. The project involved Living Technologies, Inc. as a subcontractor, and Ocean Arks International, with John Todd as principal investigator. Project design began in 1994. The main construction was complete by December 1995, when the introduction of biological species began. A steady state of operation was established by May 1996 and continued to the end of 1999. The plant was designed to treat 80,000 gallons from the city's daily wastewater output of 200,000 gallons. The Vermont AEES included wetlands for the extended aeration and treatment of activated sludge, with an active microbial community as well as plants, invertebrates, and fish. One of the goals of the project was to examine the approach's usefulness in a cold climate. A greenhouse protected the plants. The installation contained two parallel trains of treatment tanks, for experimental comparisons of treatments. During the course of the project, the operators met all but one of the original design goals, and were able to improve on the original design as a result of experimenting with the tank configurations. The area was used as both an experimental and an educational center, and was appreciated for its "uniquely beautiful aesthetic experience".


Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies

One of Todd's Living Machines was a "vital thread" in the design of the
Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam si ...
at
Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...
by David W. Orr in the 1990s. While the Living Machines's primary function was to treat wastewater, it was also intended to be a model of sustainability and ecological design for the teaching of Oberlin students. Oberlin students helped to design, install, and maintain the system. Due to the complexity of the systems involved and issues in communication, a number of design oversights occurred during planning and construction. Limitations in available space and placement of features obstructed wetland flow, a brick wall with no functional purpose shaded some of the tanks, and some of the plants were in areas that had to be traversed by maintainers. Such problems decreased the system's effectiveness, complicated its maintenance, and had to be addressed. Researchers also regretted that a single processing track was built, limiting their ability to establish parallel control and test conditions.


Omega Center for Sustainable Living

The Omega Center for Sustainable Living (OCSL) in
Rhinebeck, New York Rhinebeck is a village (New York), village in the Rhinebeck (town), New York, town of Rhinebeck in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 2,657 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metr ...
, was opened on June 24, 2009. The building was designed by BNIM Architects, working with John Todd Ecological Design as the ecological architects. Designed to be self-sustaining and carbon neutral, the building includes an Eco-machine for water reclamation. The Eco-machine's 4,500-square-foot greenhouse and constructed wetland was designed to recycle about 5 million gallons of wastewater per year through the activity of plants, bacteria, algae, snails, and fungi. In 2010, the Omega Center for Sustainable Living was one of two buildings world-wide to be the first fully certified "living buildings", demonstrably achieving net zero energy usage and net zero wastewater production over a period of a year.


George D. Aiken Center, University of Vermont

As part of the green redesign of the Aiken Center at the University of Vermont, John Todd Ecological Design, Inc. supported the creation of the Aiken Center Eco Machine between 2006 and 2012. Much of the design work for the water treatment plant was done by Matt Beamas, one of Todd's graduate students, who presented his master's thesis on the work in 2010. In addition to treating all of the wastewater from the Aiken Center, the system provides opportunities for ongoing ecological design research at the school. The wastewater system includes three separate trains, for experimental study of the system's use. The building is considered to be "a national model for green renovation of a campus building". It has been awarded LEED Platinum certification.


Recognition

Todd's work has inspired people working on the development of closed ecosystems for living in
space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...
, as well as on Earth. Todd was profiled in ''Inventing Modern America'' (2002), published by the Lemelson-MIT Program for Invention and Innovation, in which the story of the development of his innovative ecological waste treatment systems is highlighted. John Todd was the inaugural winner of the international
Buckminster Fuller Challenge The Buckminster Fuller Challenge is an annual international design competition that awards $100,000 to the most comprehensive solution to a pressing global problem. The Challenge was launched in 2007 and is a program oThe Buckminster Fuller Instit ...
in 2008, for his proposal for a ''Comprehensive Design for a Carbon Neutral World: The Challenge of Appalachia''. Todd put forward a program for the reclamation of more than one million acres of damaged land, through soil remediation, forestry, and the development of renewable energy. Other awards that Todd has received include the
Chrysler Award for Innovation in Design The Chrysler Design Awards celebrate the achievements of individuals in innovative works of architecture and design which significantly influenced modern American culture. Chrysler's awards started in 1993 to recognize six designers based in the Uni ...
in 1994, and on April 22, 1996, an Environmental Merit Award (from the
United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...
). In 1998, the Todds received the
Bioneers Bioneers, under its parent foundation, Collective Heritage Institute, is a non-profit environmental and social justice advocacy organization based in New Mexico and California. Founded in 1990, the organization's philosophy says that there is val ...
Lifetime Achievement Award. Also in 1998 they were the first couple to receive the Lindbergh Award in recognition of their work in technology and the environment. They are Fellows of the
Findhorn Foundation The Findhorn Foundation is a Scottish charitable trust registered in 1972, formed by the spiritual community at the Findhorn Ecovillage, one of the largest intentional communities in Britain.''The Dictionary of Alternatives: Utopianism and O ...
. Todd is a fellow of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics.


Books

Authored or co-authored by John Todd: * * * * * *


External links


Ocean Arks International John Todd Ecological Design, Inc."Treehugger interview with John Todd" The TH Interview: Dr. John Todd
*Fisheries & Environment Canada booklet (1977): A Most Prudent Ark;


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, John 1939 births Living people Appropriate technology advocates Canadian ecologists Scientists from Hamilton, Ontario Systems ecologists University of Michigan alumni Waste managers McGill University alumni