Faculty Outreach

Hands-on Experience in the Material Reuse Program at the UGA College of Environment and Design

December 2012

University of Georgia students are partnering with Chris McDowell, director of the UGA Material Reuse Program, to plan and build several new gardens for community organizations throughout Athens. The Material Reuse Program, a pilot project of the College of Environment and Design, salvages materials from construction and demolition projects and reclaims them for landscape projects.

“The purpose of these projects is to expose undergraduate design students to the benefits of reusing ‘waste’ materials in landscape construction through hands-on application,“ says McDowell, who is a recent graduate of the Master of Landscape Architecture program.

The undergraduate Landscape Architecture students are gaining practical experience through the service-learning projects, applying principles learned in their Landscape Ecology course. Taught by Associate Professor Alfie Vick and Lauren Zeichner, the course explores how ecological principles can be used to address design problems in the built environment. Clients include Casa de Amistad, a nonprofit resource center for the Latino Community in Athens; Clarke Central High Schoolís agricultural sciences program; and the Brooklyn Community Garden, which is managed by the Athens Land Trust. The classes also worked on the landscape at Lily Branch near the Lamar Dodd School of Art at UGA and Fowler Drive elementary school.

Lauren Zeichner, a part-time faculty member in the College of Environment and Design and Athens landscape architect, explains that the class is meant to show the students applications of what they learn about in classófrom rainwater harvesting to plant community development to educating the public about sustainable practices with demonstrable techniques. “I also insist that our clients have some form of commitment or ownership of the project; otherwise, the projects might not have long-term management. These gardens are living entities that need care and unless people have invested in them in some way, they will not flourish,“ she explains.

For Casa de Amistad, students are designing and building a communal garden that will serve as a space for community members to grow vegetables as well as gather for recreational activities and hold workshops and classes. Alex Borges, Executive Director of Casa de Amistad had positive reviews for the Landscape Architecture students: ìEveryone has a great attitude and I am very happy with how the plan is going so far to rebuild our community garden.

At Clarke Central, the students are working with Ag teacher Jeff Holland to develop a master plan for an outdoor learning laboratory that will include a plant nursery pad, composting facility, production beds, an orchard and an outdoor classroom space. UGA landscape architecture students are also building the first phase, which will include a terraced vegetable, herb, and pollinator garden.

At the Brooklyn Community Garden, a 10-year-old effort, students are updating and replacing existing raised beds, building a shade-structure and patio, and establishing a new compost system.

These class projects were funded with grants from the Office of Service Learning at UGA, a Department of Natural Resources grant and generous plant donations from Thyme after Thyme plant nursery near Winterville.

According to McDowell, ìThe students gain first-hand knowledge of how to interact with a client, manage tasks, specify materials and work as a team in projects with real consequences and deadlines.  Moreover, the students design tangible products that have a lasting community impact. They can see the evidence of their own work and how it affects their clients and the community.

In addition to the community projects, a group of students is working with McDowell at the Reuse Programís facility on South Milledge Avenue to develop a demonstration garden that will showcase some of the different reuse applications for salvaged materials. As part of each project, students are both designing and building, taking their concepts all the way through to completion. All the materials incorporated into the projects are locally sourced from nearby construction and demolition projects such as dilapidated barns and campus construction projects. This process manages the environmental impact; avoiding compounding landfill waste and purchasing unnecessary new material. Beyond the direct benefits to students and their clients, these innovative projects serve to educate the broader community about how our landscapes can become more sustainable and environmentally friendly, as well as beautiful. The facility includes raised beds for pollinator plants, herbs and vegetables, a demonstration for water harvesting, salvaged pallet fencing and a small green roof.

A great deal of construction and demolition material ends up in our landfills unnecessarily. Through projects like the Material Reuse Program, our students are learning alternative, more sustainable approaches to construction,î says Dan Nadenicek, Dean of the College of Environment and Design.

The UGA College of Environment and Design houses one of the oldest and largest landscape architecture programs in the U.S. and received number one ranking in sustainability education from Design Intelligence magazine in 2012. The Material Reuse Program is a part of the College of Environment and Design. For more information contact McDowell at 504/644-8118 or www.thematerialreuseprogram.com.