Our roots trace back to 2008 when our Founder and President Trevor Kenkel was just 12-years old.While exploring the stream near his family’s house in Kalispell, Montana, Trevor was shocked to discover that the frogs and fish were gone. Determined to find out why, Trevor visited the stream regularly to see if he could figure out what was going on. One day, after heavy rain had fallen, Trevor noticed how the stream had expanded due to all the extra water running into it from the surrounding land. He started following a particularly large tributary and soon found himself on the outskirts of a nearby farm. Trevor quickly realized that pesticides and fertilizers were washing out of the soil and into the stream and promised himself right then and there that he would find a more environmentally friendly way to grow organic food.

Beginning with his own small garden in his parents’ backyard, Trevor learned the basics of organic gardening. Each year, his garden got more productive but Trevor grew frustrated with the short growing season in Montana. He took to the internet and learned how hydroponic greenhouses were making it possible to grow vegetables all year-round. Trevor got excited until he noticed one very big problem—while hydroponic greenhouses are great ways to extend the growing season in cold weather, they use a tremendous amount of chemicals and fertilizers

from unsustainable sources that must be reordered, manufactured and shipped with every new planting. Instead of reusable soil, hydroponic greenhouses use disposable growing mediums that often end up in landfills. Trevor kept on researching and eventually discovered aquaponics (link to what is aquaponics page).

Trevor instantly fell in love with the idea of replacing outdoor fields with indoor greenhouses where water circulates continuously within a closed loop system that grows fish as well as plants. Just before the beginning of his freshman year of high school, Trevor took some of the money he earned over the summer and bought a 20-gallon fish tank, a pump, some fluorescent lights, five goldfish and a package of lettuce seeds. Trevor’s first crop was a stringy disappointment. Undaunted, he learned from his mistakes, made some adjustments and kept on trying. Over the next three years, his aquaponic system evolved into a 300 square foot greenhouse and Trevor was producing enough fresh produce to feed his family year-round and supply a local restaurant.

During his undergraduate studies at Bowdoin College, Trevor was thrilled to discover Maine’s natural beauty and incredible outdoor recreation opportunities. He was also impressed by Maine’s long history of supporting local food producers as well as the thriving farm to table restaurant scene. Trevor began exploring towns where he could apply everything he’d learned about aquaponics, business and sustainability and eventually found a 168-acre parcel of land available in for sale in nearby Lisbon. With Boston just over two hours away, the huge New England market within easy access and lots of hard-working people to recruit in the surrounding area, Trevor realized Lisbon was the perfect place to build a commercial-size aquaponic greenhouse. And Springworks was born.

About Us

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At Springworks, we’re on a mission to grow certified organic lettuce people feel good about in every way – how it’s grown, where it’s grown and how it tastes. Simply put, we grow better lettuce in a safer, cleaner and more responsible way.

What organic means to us
More than a word, more than a certification—at Springworks, organic is everything.

Organic is who we are, what we do and why we’re here. It’s our unshakeable belief that our proprietary aquaponic growing technology enables us to grow the best organic lettuce, build a successful business and create opportunities for our people with minimal impact on the environment.

How we came to be
Young Trevor exploring the outdoors
Our roots trace back to 2008 when our Founder and President Trevor Kenkel was just 12-years old. While exploring the stream near his family’s house in Kalispell, Montana, Trevor was shocked to discover that the frogs and fish were gone. Determined to find out why, Trevor visited the stream regularly to see if he could figure out what was going on. One day, after heavy rain had fallen, Trevor noticed how the stream had expanded due to all the extra water running into it from the surrounding land. He started following a particularly large tributary and soon found himself on the outskirts of a nearby farm. Trevor quickly realized that pesticides and fertilizers were washing out of the soil and into the stream and promised himself right then and there that he would find a more environmentally friendly way to grow organic food.
Organic Gardening Photo
Beginning with his own small garden in his parents’ backyard, Trevor learned the basics of organic gardening. Each year, his garden got more productive but Trevor grew frustrated with the short growing season in Montana. He took to the internet and learned how hydroponic greenhouses were making it possible to grow vegetables all year-round. Trevor got excited until he noticed one very big problem—while hydroponic greenhouses are great ways to extend the growing season in cold weather, they use a tremendous amount of chemicals and fertilizers from unsustainable sources that must be reordered, manufactured and shipped with every new planting. Instead of reusable soil, hydroponic greenhouses use disposable growing mediums that often end up in landfills. Trevor kept on researching and eventually discovered aquaponics.
Trevor Kenkel
Trevor instantly fell in love with the idea of replacing outdoor fields with indoor greenhouses where water circulates continuously within a closed loop system that grows fish as well as plants. Just before the beginning of his freshman year of high school, Trevor took some of the money he earned over the summer and bought a 20-gallon fish tank, a pump, some fluorescent lights, five goldfish and a package of lettuce seeds. Trevor’s first crop was a stringy disappointment. Undaunted, he learned from his mistakes, made some adjustments and kept on trying. Over the next three years, his aquaponic system evolved into a 300 square foot greenhouse and Trevor was producing enough fresh produce to feed his family year-round and supply a local restaurant. During his undergraduate studies at Bowdoin College, Trevor was thrilled to discover Maine’s natural beauty and incredible outdoor recreation opportunities. He was also impressed by Maine’s long history of supporting local food producers as well as the thriving farm to table restaurant scene. Trevor began exploring towns where he could apply everything he’d learned about aquaponics, business and sustainability and eventually found a 168-acre parcel of land available in for sale in nearby Lisbon. With Boston just over two hours away, the huge New England market within easy access and lots of hard-working people to recruit in the surrounding area, Trevor realized Lisbon was the perfect place to build a commercial-size aquaponic greenhouse. And Springworks was born.
Making Aquaponics Work Like No One Else
Aquaponics Warehouse
Today, Springworks is the largest aquaponics greenhouse in the northeast producing over 1 million heads of organic lettuce every year. Only a handful of greenhouses in the country use aquaponics to grow as much as we do and no one uses the proprietary system Trevor created and that he and our team continue to refine and perfect. We are constantly learning, updating and improving the efficiency and productivity of our greenhouses.The beauty of aquaponics is that by simply living happy lives and doing what comes naturally, our fish provide the organic material our lettuce needs to grow. As our lettuce absorbs nutrients from the water, they naturally filter the water to the point where we can pump it back into our fish tanks where the process starts all over again. It’s not the easiest method of growing fresh produce but it’s one of the safest, most water efficient and most sustainable ways to farm. In addition to our certified organic greens, we produce over 150,000 pounds of tilapia every year.
Our Advantage: Hydroponics is a growing system. Aquaponics is an ecosystem
Advantage Photo
If you’re wondering why more commercial greenhouses aren’t using aquaponics, it’s because it’s a lot more complicated. In a hydroponic greenhouse, growers are focused exclusively on their vegetables which they feed through a drip system that requires fairly basic maintenance. In our aquaponic greenhouse, we’re maintaining an entire ecosystem along with the added responsibility of taking care of thousands of tilapia. Our ecosystem requires constant care, monitoring and adjustments to ensure our fish and plants have everything they need to thrive. The benefits of aquaponics are worth the extra effort because aquaponics is as close to nature as you can get – fish and plants working together in a continuous circle to help each other grow.
The Complete Package
Organic Photo
When you choose Springworks lettuce, you’re getting the complete package – a certified organic product grown with love and care in Lisbon, Maine and shipped only to stores we can reach within a day’s drive of our greenhouse. You’re also supporting our goal to fundamentally improve the way organic greens are grown in the U.S.

Thank you for being the most important part of our business. We have exciting plans to grow our business here in Maine and throughout the northeast and we look forward to sharing them with you down the road.

Our Vision

Growing great-tasting lettuce is only part of our mission. At Springworks, we’re out to prove to the world that aquaponics is the most sustainable way to farm.