A new club is on the rise at Apopka High School. Mr. Fairchild and company have started up what is known as the Jarrarium Club. What is a jarrarium you ask? Club sponsor, Mr. Fairchild tells us, “A jarrarium is manmade ecosystem within a jar. The ecosystems can be freshwater, saltwater, or terrestrial. You can keep anything inside of it from shrimp (my favorite) to moss. These ecosystems can be designed to be sealed and self-sustaining where the only input is solar energy. While they can be difficult to make, they can be the most hands off  ‘pet’ you will ever have. I can honestly say I have spent hours in front of them watching the different organisms go about their daily lives. The hardest part of making the jar is being patient, the ecosystem inside can take weeks to stabilize. The most fundamental principle of the jar is balance of energy and resources.” Mr. Fairchild has kept one of these on his desk since he became a teacher, and the fascination of many students sparked him to start the club. Anyone who wishes to join the club should click on this link  https://tinyurl.com/reachforthejars and fill out the google form. 

Mr. Fairchild’s plan for the club is to bring interest to the jarrarium hobby. The main activities will be a “Jar of the Month” where you will examine a certain type of jarrarium and how to build it. “For example, one month we would go over terrestrial mossariums (a jarrarium for moss) another month we would go over brackish jarrariums for housing Opae Ula, the hardiest and longest-lived shrimp in the world (up to 20 years!), explained Mr. Fairchild. If you would just like to observe and learn about the jarrariums, that is no problem. Members are not obligated to build if they don’t want to. Mr. Fairchild says he is happy to provide assistance with anyone who needs it. He also says, that while learning about the jarrariums, he wants to “draw attention to academic overlaps with biology, microbiology, ecology, marine science, and chemistry.” If you are interested into going into one of these fields, this may be the club for you.

As far as how the club will be run, there will be meetings from 2:30-3:30 on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays in Mr. Fairchild’s room 414 on the north campus. “I will run the first few meetings to get us going, but I would be happy to have students run the meetings and presentations on the different types of jarrariums.” Mr. Fairchild plans to have a positional hierarchy within his club and is searching for a President, Vice President, and other subsequent positions. How to run for those positions will be discussed in the meetings. Anyone who does not have an official title will be known as a “Jar Lord” or “Jar Master.” With the pending interest that Mr. Fairchild is receiving from students, this club is looking like it will be one of the biggest clubs on campus and you don’t want to miss out.