{"675711":{"#nid":"675711","#data":{"type":"news","title":"UrbanAg Goes Global","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEvery week, members of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sos.gtorg.gatech.edu\/home\u0022\u003EStudents Organizing for Sustainability\u003C\/a\u003E\u2019s (SOS) Urban Agriculture (UrbanAg) project tend to the rooftop garden at The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design. In the last year, student interest in gardening has grown, and the project has taken on new life. Weekly meetings have grown from five to 25 regular members.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe started as just a few people pulling weeds,\u201d said Elaina Render, UrbanAg project lead and a civil engineering major. \u201cAs we have grown, I have seen firsthand how the project has transformed the way students consider sustainability and food production in their daily lives. By having a community to discuss ideas with, everyone has learned to practice more sustainable habits.\u201d\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis month, the UrbanAg project goes global as seven members travel to Singapore, where they will present their research on campus gardening at the 8th Global Botanic Garden Congress (8GBGC). The conference will include presentations from global leaders in gardening, including the CEO of Singapore\u2019s National Parks Board and the chairman of Botanic Gardens Conservation International. Tech students will also tour campus sustainability initiatives at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, hosted by a student club similar to their own.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe trip is UrbanAg\u2019s largest foray yet. Biomedical engineering student Nicole Allen, vice president of finance for SOS, has been organizing the trip\u2019s logistics and finances, and the group has secured more than $15,000 from on-campus grants to fund their travel. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis trip will be a great opportunity to discuss our ideas with students outside of the U.S.,\u201d she said. \u201cGeorgia Tech has become a leader in sustainability through its \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sustain.gatech.edu\/georgia-tech-climate-action-plan\/\u0022\u003EClimate Action Plan\u003C\/a\u003E, but also through its student initiatives. We\u2019re excited to share our progress with the world and bring back new ideas to speed up Georgia Tech\u2019s progress toward net-zero emissions.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/inline-images\/Bok%20Choy-web2.jpg\u0022 data-align=\u0022right\u0022 data-entity-uuid=\u00225246a13c-fcf9-4076-9df4-674a0f95e243\u0022 data-entity-type=\u0022file\u0022 alt=\u0022Mia Granelli (left) and Isabella Baker harvest bok choy and kale from The Kendeda Building\u2019s rooftop garden during an UrbanAg meeting.\u0022 width=\u0022500\u0022 height=\u0022667\u0022\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENikita Takalkar, a second-year student going on the Singapore trip, wants to explore her passion for farm-to-table initiatives and community gardens. \u201cThe opportunity to learn from experts and other students about how programs like our urban agriculture project are implemented worldwide will be such a fascinating and beneficial experience,\u201d Takalkar said. She hopes to learn new urban gardening techniques from the other presenters at 8GBGC and from touring the many publicly accessible gardens in Singapore.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESeven of the 25 regular UrbanAg members are attending: fourth-years Nicole Allen, Isabella Baker, Mia Granelli, and Elaina Render; third-year Kiran Kapileshwari; and second-years Rachel Bohl and Nikita Takalkar. The group is largely interdisciplinary, with backgrounds in five different majors.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs UrbanAg has grown, new initiatives have budded. Project members will plant \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/nique.net\/life\/2024\/03\/08\/kendeda-to-launch-mini-gardens-across-campus\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Emicro-gardens\u003C\/a\u003E this fall as part of the LEAD department\u2019s Teams for Tech Fellowship. They\u0027ve brought in speakers from sustainability-focused companies throughout Atlanta, toured gardens at Delta\u2019s headquarters, cooked up garden-based recipes each week, and are leading a research project through Kendeda \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/micro-research-grants-awarded\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EMicro Research Grants\u003C\/a\u003E for the Regenerative Built Environments program. They have explored brewing new teas, attended the Atlanta Botanical Garden\u2019s spring gardening symposium, and gone to fungi talks hosted at local businesses. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere\u2019s encouragement for any member, no matter experience level or involvement length, to explore what interests them and find opportunities to learn more,\u201d Render said. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe group will be abroad Aug. 5 \u2013 11. Follow along on Instagram @\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/instagram.com\/gt.urbanag\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Egt.urbanag\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"full_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe UrbanAg project goes global as a group of seven members travels to Singapore.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The UrbanAg project goes global as a group of seven members travels to Singapore. "}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2024-08-01 20:24:03","changed_gmt":"2024-08-09 00:38:20","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-08-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-08-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"674472":{"id":"674472","type":"image","title":"roofgarden2.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EStudents at the Kendeda rooftop garden\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1722526511","gmt_created":"2024-08-01 15:35:11","changed":"1722526511","gmt_changed":"2024-08-01 15:35:11","alt":"Students at the Kendeda rooftop garden","file":{"fid":"258001","name":"roofgarden2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/08\/01\/roofgarden2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/08\/01\/roofgarden2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":765223,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/08\/01\/roofgarden2.jpg?itok=GiTpF7pu"}},"674474":{"id":"674474","type":"image","title":"Potluck.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EStudents Organizing for Sustainability potluck\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1722527192","gmt_created":"2024-08-01 15:46:32","changed":"1722527192","gmt_changed":"2024-08-01 15:46:32","alt":"Students Organizing for Sustainability potluck","file":{"fid":"258006","name":"Potluck.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/08\/01\/Potluck.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/08\/01\/Potluck.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":998620,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/08\/01\/Potluck.jpg?itok=jLzEY42A"}}},"media_ids":["674472","674474"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/sustain.gatech.edu\/georgia-tech-climate-action-plan\/","title":"Georgia Tech Climate Action Plan"},{"url":"https:\/\/sos.gtorg.gatech.edu\/home","title":"Georgia Tech Students Organizing for Sustainability"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:nallen49@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ENicole Allen\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EStudents Organizing for Sustainability\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kristen.bailey@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Bailey\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}