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September 2, 2008
Federal funding grows sustainable gardens

By Kelly Gray

A grant from the United States Department of Agriculture and Georgia’s Department of Agriculture will help Emory’s educational food gardens flourish.

The $2,000 grant will be used to buy additional seeds, transplants, and soil amenities for the gardens — all purchased from local farmers to strengthen sustainable ties.

“We are using the educational food gardens as another way to inspire the Emory community to buy and grow more local food, and this grant helps advance that,” says Chad Brommer, biology lecturer. “These food gardens are more than a sustainable practice, they reinforce the agricultural base that Georgia has worked so had to establish over the years.”

Produce and fruits that are native to the state will be some of the specialty crops grown in the gardens with federal funding. The grant will also allow for additional promotional materials, like signage, to be created and marketed through several outlets for promoting Georgia-grown food.

The gardens are operated and maintained on a closed loop system by volunteer staff, student and faculty gardeners. “We reuse water captured in nearby rain barrels or from campus cisterns. We also use composters at the gardens so nothing is thrown away,” adds Brommer.