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Sustainability Grants

Deadlines for 2013-2014 Academic Year will be posted during the Fall Semester.

UGA Campus Sustainability Grant Guidelines
UGA Campus Sustainability Grant Application

The UGA Campus Sustainability Grants Program provides funding for competitive, student-proposed projects and initiatives designed to advance campus sustainability through education, research, service, and operations. Successful projects will address priorities outlined in UGA’s 2020 Strategic Plan to actively conserve resources, educate the campus community, influence positive action for people and the environment, and provide useful research data to inform future campus sustainability efforts. Multi-disciplined projects, designed to inspire and beautify as well as to inform and conserve, are encouraged. Proposals are accepted from current UGA students and will be selected based on merit, positive impact, implementation feasibility, and available funding.

Eligibility: Available to all current full-time UGA students with a minimum G.P.A. of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale.

Amounts: A maximum of $5,000 is available for individual projects. Successfully approved proposals will receive funding based on merit and feasibility. Number of projects awarded is dependent upon total funds available.

Questions? For additional help, contact the Office of Sustainability at 706-542-1301 or sustain@uga.edu.

Recipients of the 2013 Campus Sustainability Grants are as follows:

  • Tawfig Bhuiyan, a master’s student in the College of Engineering, will focus on curbing poor water quality from storm runoff through the use of pervious concrete pavements (PCP). Bhuiyan will construct a PCP test site and use tests for compressive strength, durability, porosity (drain time) and water quality to gain a better understanding of the technological aspects of PCP and to address sociological barriers that have limited the use of this material.
  • Aaron Joslin, a Ph.D student in the Warnell School of Forest Resources, Greg Skupien, a master’s student in Ecology, and Holly Campbell, a master’s in natural resources (MNR) student, will work to reduce the volume and mass of solid waste at UGA. The group plans to implement a pilot program to collect organic, compostable waste in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and deliver it to the UGArden for composting.
  • Allie Brown, a senior Anthropology major in the Franklin College of Arts & Sciences, Tyler Faby, a finance major in the Terry College of Business, and a team of engineering students aim to aid the University in its mission to reduce energy use and identify  feasible alternatives to the current fossil-fuel based energy system. The multi-disciplinary, policy-oriented and student-based research project will explore the environmental and economic implications of various energy sources and efficiency options on campus.
  • Coral Frederick, a senior Mass Media Arts and Women’s Studies double major from the Grady College of Journalism and the Institute for Women’s Studies, will increase technology transfer for UGArden’s current aquaponics system, a sustainable food production system that integrates vegetable production with fish production. Frederick will work with researchers in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources to optimize fish diet for maximum sustainability of fish production and develop online outlets to share information about the project and aquaponics.
  • Kareem Mahmoud, a junior finance major in the Terry College of Business, hopes to increase usability and facilitate an easier method of bike sharing within UGA’s Bulldog Bikes program. With the goal of reducing traffic congestion and promoting alternative transportation options, Mahmoud will collaborate with researchers in the College of Engineering to create an automated system for bike check-in and check-out at any of the three existing bike share locations on campus.
  • Lucy King, Amy Ferguson, Jason Bowman, Kyle Hady, and Mathew Logan, all senior Environmental Engineering majors the UGA College of Engineering, will build a solar recharge station for UGArden’s new electric vehicle. The vehicle will be used to deliver food grown in the garden to families in the Athens area. The group hopes this recharge station can serve as an example for future alternative energy projects at UGA.
  • Sophie Giberga, a sophomore political science major in the School of Public & International Affairs, will use her funding to help the Lunchbox Garden project expand its reach to other schools and increase outdoor education. The Lunchbox Garden Project is an afterschool gardening and nutrition education program and currently operates at Barnet Shoals and Chase Street Elementary Schools.

FY 2012 Awards
Recipients of the 2012 Campus Sustainability Grants are as follows:

  • Brandi Bishop, a senior agricultural education major at UGA’s Tifton campus, will develop a recycling program at the extended campus. She plans to install 60 Waste Reduction Stations in 15 of the busiest buildings at the university. The stations will make it easier and more convenient to recycle and will save items from being sent to landfills. Bishop will also implement a public relations campaign to encourage university and community members to reduce their waste.
  • Katie Shepard, a master’s student in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, will monitor the effectiveness of an East Campus rain garden at filtering pollutants from stormwater runoff. Shepard’s project will take soil moisture and water quality measurements to determine how well the rain garden does its job. Her findings will help ensure that other current and future rain gardens on campus continue to act as effective filters for stormwater. The project will be monitored by classes in the Warnell School of Forestry, Crop and Soil Sciences and the College of Environment and Design, allowing it to serve as a living laboratory for future education.
  • Chris McDowell, a master’s student in the College of Environment and Design, will demonstrate how construction and demolition waste products can be diverted from the landfill and converted into tangible community-based improvements. He will work with authorities to collect waste items from construction sites, and with the help of volunteers will reuse materials to complete construction projects that benefit the campus and local community. He also plans to implement a communications campaign to recruit volunteers and educate the public on the benefits of material reuse.
  • JoHanna Biang, a master’s student in horticulture, will construct a living wall planted with seasonal herbs and vegetables to research and demonstrate the effectiveness of vertical gardening. The wall will be installed at UGArden, UGA’s campus community garden, and will be maintained by student volunteers. The herbs and vegetables grown on the wall will be harvested by Campus Kitchens for distribution to the Northeast Georgia Food Bank and community members in need.
  • Graham Pickren, a Ph.D student in geography, is expanding a program that collects, donates and recycles unwanted items from student residence halls during move-out week. Pickren will be working with Dawgs Ditch the Dumpster Move-Out Donation Program to implement an electronic waste collection to go along with the clothing and furniture donation program. At the end of the year, students will have the chance to bring unwanted electronics to campus drop-off sites to be recycled or donated to local charities.
  • Zach Richardson, a senior landscape architecture student, will create a prescribed grazing program to remove exotic invasive plants and restore native forest adjacent to Tanyard Creek. His project will use a herd of goats to remove non-native plants such as privet and English ivy. He, along with faculty in the College of Environment and Design and the Warnell School of Forestry, will coordinate student volunteers to assist the four-legged campus visitors in removing larger invasive plants from the project area and will monitor the project’s effectiveness over time.

FY 2011 Awards
Recipients of the 2011 Campus Sustainability Grants are as follows:

  • Emily Karol, a 2011 UGA graduate, was awarded $950 to implement a water refilling station on the second floor of the Miller Learning Center. Since then, the refilling centers have been installed in several buildings on campus, including the Tate Center and the UGA Visitor’s Center.
  • Andrew Douglass, a 2011 graduate, received $5,000 to implement a rainwater harvesting system at UGArden. The system includes a 3,000 gallon cistern that collects water from the roof of adjacent Horticulture Greenhouses – water which is used to irrigate the garden year-round.
  • Sheena Zhang, a 2011 graduate, received $3,300 to develop a bike sharing program in Building 1516 on East Campus.
  • Nick Martin, a 2011 graduate, received $3,700 to expand a program that collects unwanted items from freshman dorms during move-out week at the end of the semester. Last spring, Dawgs Ditch the Dumpster collected unwanted items from 11 dorms and donated approximately $33,000 in reusable items to local charities.