Students Organizing Sustainability (SOS) is a student-led organization that is trying to make Tech more sustainable by creating and finding funding for environmental projects like a community garden. The organization consists of around 400 volunteers — some faculty but most being students. One of the projects SOS is helping is UrbanAg. To learn more about the organization and their recent international trip where they presented their research, the Technique sat down with one of its members, Isabella Baker, fourth-year ARCH.
UrbanAg is responsible for the garden on the roof of the Kendeda Building. Due to the location of the garden, the team is able to learn how the shadows of buildings and various animals and insects that interact with the plants can impact the garden’s growth. This information is vital, since rooftop gardening is a very prominent feature of green infrastructure, which is gaining traction in many major cities, including Atlanta.
UrbanAg is trying to reach out to more Tech students to inform them about how important it is to know where their food is coming from and how they can do their part by planting their own plants, both edible and non-edible. The organization brings in guest speakers to talk to students and help with outreach.
They try to find speakers that are local to Atlanta to allow students to understand the direct correlation that sustainable agriculture has on the city. These guest speaker presentations also educate students about possible job options and opportunities that are associated with sustainable agriculture.
The organization took a trip to the 8th Global Botanic Garden Congress in Singapore, marking a massive step forward for the club. Not only were they able to make connections with horticulturists and landscape architects from different regions of the world like Australia, Mexico and Naples Botanical Garden in Florida, but they were also able to present the research they had been conducting. UrbanAg was awarded a grant from the Brook Byers Institute of Sustainable Systems at Tech to look at how gardens can grow in student living conditions. They used a sample size of 20 students and gave them small boxes to grow plants in their apartments and dorms. These plants grew inside for 14 weeks, and UrbanAg was able to track the plants to see which plants grew and what conditions they needed. This study was also used to track the stress level and the happiness of the students participating in the study.
“We like to argue that gardening is very good for mental health as well,” Baker said.
During this trip, the team interacted with students attending the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). The team presented their research to a group of SUTD students and faculty. The UrbanAg team was also able to get a tour of the campus and learn what SUTD’s sustainability club was working on.
“That was a really great experience to connect on an international level,” Baker said.
Due to their newfound connections with the Naples Botanical Garden, UrbanAg is planning to take a trip down to Florida to work with the Botanical Gardens beach restoration program. They are also planning on making a local trip to the Atlanta Botanical Center and the Atlanta History Center in the near future.
“There’s a huge urban agriculture movement in Atlanta,” Baker said.
The organization is hoping that they can motivate more students to start growing their own plants by showcasing how beneficial and satisfying the progress can be. During their weekly meeting, the club tends to the garden by removing any weeds and adding the proper nutrients they need, they also make dishes out of the crops they have grown in their garden on the Kendeda Building roof. These items range from bruschetta to tea. Every meeting is different, since students can choose if they want to help harvest, spread mulch, compost, or just come and socialize and eat food with other students.
Currently, UrbanAg is working with the campus landscape architect and horticulturist to find spots around campus to plant fruits, trees and bushes to further exemplify how urban landscaping and edible plants can coexist together.
They are also trying to look into recycling containers by painting them and using them as individual pots to be used for plants. Hopefully, by educating students about how they can be sustainable on campus and partake in urban agricultural practices, more students can grow their own plants and lead by example.
UrbanAg meets every Tuesday at 11:00 AM on the roof of the Kendeda Building. There is no sign-up required to attend their meetings. If you want to find out more information, follow their Instagram page @gt.urbanag.