{"256991":{"#nid":"256991","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Students Spark Growth of Small-Scale Urban Agriculture in Atlanta","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWritten by: Kristen Bailey, Rebecca Keane, and David Terraso\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith projects encompassing urban farms, gardening, hive research, and digital developments, a growing population of students, faculty, and staff are finding ways to study and source food for campus and the community.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBuzzing on the Rooftop\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf the wind is just right and you listen carefully on Tech Walk, you might hear a faint buzzing sound. It\u2019s not coming from Tech\u2019s beloved mascot: It\u2019s the sound of thousands of bees in their hives atop the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/bees.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EUrban Honey Bee Project\u003C\/a\u003E, developed by Jennifer Leavey, the integrated science curriculum coordinator for the College of Sciences, gives students from all majors an opportunity to conduct their own hive-related research with scientists and students from other disciplines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project garnered so much attention on campus that Leavey began offering introductory beekeeping classes, enabling anyone to join in the activities of the rooftop apiary.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELeavey is interested in looking at community and rooftop gardens to compare the productivity of gardens that have bees with ones that don\u2019t. The group is currently in discussions with a variety of community groups to set that up.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBringing the Farm to the City\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/greenbuzz.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/214501\u0022\u003ESteven Van\u0026nbsp;Ginkel\u003C\/a\u003E, a research engineer in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has worked with people across the city and country to bring local, sustainable food sources to these so-called food deserts \u2014 areas with limited access to fresh, affordable groceries. Van\u0026nbsp;Ginkel, who grew up on a farm in Iowa and holds degrees in fisheries and environmental engineering, leads a net zero water, energy and nutrient, high-intensity\u0026nbsp;aquaponics\u0026nbsp;initiative.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAquaponics, which allows people to grow both vegetables and fish with the same resources, is ideal for small urban spaces. Systems can be built at any scale and size, with multiple ways to nourish produce and fish. Van Ginkel is working to install a system at Underground Atlanta that could help revive the waning tourist area. Representatives from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have voiced interest in constructing an aeroponics system, similar to hydroponics, for the airport\u2019s atrium. He has even consulted with students on building a system at their fraternity house.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVan Ginkel envisions an aquaponics system on campus that would use food waste from dining halls along with rainwater and solar energy to grow fresh food to then be consumed in dining halls once again.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother urban farming initiative is led by the student group ArkFab. Just a few blocks south of campus in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood, ArkFab has constructed a vertical farm at the Wheat Street Garden next to the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site. The partnership with Truly Living Well, an Atlanta nonprofit that supports sustainable urban agriculture, brings a local, sustainable food source to the downtown area.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe idea, which emerged from the 2011 Ideas to SERVE competition, won a Ford Motor Company Grant in 2012 and has drawn together groups such as Engineers Without Borders, Engineers for a Sustainable World, and Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity. It\u0027s lead by\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/jeannette-yen\u0022\u003EJeanette Yen\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor and director of the Center for Biologically-Inspired Design in the School of Biology, and recently earned two additional grants totaling $100,000.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESowing the Seeds of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELike many people at Georgia Tech,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/news-and-events\/features\/10\/2013\/disalvo-fosters-community-involvement-through\u0022\u003ECarl DiSalvo\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;is looking at how technology can enhance our everyday lives. The assistant professor in Tech\u2019s digital media graduate program studies the products and process of interaction design, and his research centers on a basic goal: providing technology tools to help people who want to pursue community-based agriculture projects.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMany people participate in community gardens,\u201d he said. \u201cOthers have sizable gardens, and they might sell their produce at a local farmer\u0027s market or even give their food away. That\u0027s really important to food banks and churches and other services that provide fresh fruits and vegetables to people in need.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of DiSalvo\u2019s high-tech strategies is to use Hackathons, now a common occurrence in the computing community, to create the interactive solutions he is after. He\u2019s developing a series of hackathons in Atlanta that will focus on designing better software to support local food systems, partnering with local organizations such as the Atlanta Local Food Initiative, City of Atlanta Mayor\u2019s Office, and Atlanta Community Food Bank.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur hope is that on a pragmatic level something will get built \u2014 an idea will be generated, and over the course of the next year an actual tool gets produced that will be used by the citizens of greater Atlanta,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe puts his research into practice with one of his classes at a space just west of campus called the Friends of English Avenue Farm. The two-person endeavor is run on a vacant lot, and every other week fruits and vegetables are given away to the people in the neighborhood. His class studies the operation to determine what kinds of tools could help manage the farm, attract donors and volunteers, and communicate its mission to a wider audience. So far, they\u2019ve created a web-based application that converts raw data into various graphic formats, enabling the farm\u2019s manager to track yield over time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cUsing this tool she can show in a compelling visual format how much produce and the variety of produce that the farm has contributed to the community,\u201d DiSalvo said. \u201cIt\u2019s a very special place, and a wonderful service.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETending Campus Soil\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBack on campus, on the southeast side of the Instructional Center lawn, six garden beds are home to fresh produce maintained by\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/sos.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EStudents Organizing for Sustainability (SOS)\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cPeople are confused about where their food comes from, but it\u2019s something you should know,\u201d said Stephanie Kehl, vice president of SOS. The garden is a cooperative effort of students, faculty, and staff with all levels of gardening experience. Those who take up tools in the garden may harvest whatever produce they want, and SOS donates leftovers to local soup kitchens.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESOS participants typically gather to tend the garden about once a week. It\u2019s home to more than a dozen crops \u2013 all grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides \u2013 giving gardeners an array of take-home options.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cDiversification is more interesting than having just one variety,\u201d Kehl said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELocal food from outside campus can be found on Tech Walk every Thursday in the spring and fall at the Georgia Tech Farmers Market, and a sustainable dining committee lets students be involved in reducing the negative environmental impacts of on-campus dining services.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;Find the full story and videos at\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/features\/urban-farming\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/features\/urban-farming\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWith projects encompassing urban farms, gardening, hive research, and digital developments, a growing population of students, faculty, and staff are finding ways to study and source food for campus and the community.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27714","created_gmt":"2013-11-25 11:37:46","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:25","author":"Kyle James","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-11-25T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2013-11-25T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"256981":{"id":"256981","type":"image","title":"Campus Garden","body":null,"created":"1449243856","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:44:16","changed":"1475894936","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:56","alt":"Campus Garden","file":{"fid":"198243","name":"agriculture.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/agriculture_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/agriculture_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1251004,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/agriculture_0.jpg?itok=7vDtnjND"}}},"media_ids":["256981"],"groups":[{"id":"1224","name":"School of City \u0026 Regional Planning"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"166890","name":"sustainability"},{"id":"11278","name":"Urban Agriculture"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}