Marena Toth, chief operating officer, left, and Robert Arnhold, chief executive officer and president of the board of directors, both of Growing Together Aquaponics, stand Monday, March 13, 2023, for a portrait at the end of the operation's growing beds in Slippery Rock. Growing Together Aquaponics mentors people with disabilities to aid in job skills development. Cary Shaffer/Butler Eagle

Cary Shaffer

SLIPPERY ROCK — Robert Arnhold stands in the doorway of North Country Brewing Taproom. With great pride, his gaze moves from one student or volunteer to the next.

Arnhold, who is CEO, president of the board of directors and founder of Growing Together Aquaponics, has seen the Slippery Rock-based program impact the community with its mission. The nonprofit uses the science and technology of aquaponic systems to provide preemployment transition services to students with intellectual and other developmental disabilities.

“We take students who are ready to transition from one point in their life to the next with the skills needed to move forward, with and without disabilities,” said Marena Toth, company COO. “Each student’s path is unique and customized to their goals.”

Arnhold, a retired professor of adapted physical activity at Slippery Rock University, began focusing on healthy lifestyles beyond physical activity by developing transition programs while at the university.

After his retirement, he and a colleague toured an aquaponics system in Harrisburg. Arnhold thought teaching STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) concepts in a hands-on way to people with disabilities would provide an environment that fosters learning of various job skills.