University of Georgia
EN-4: Outreach Materials and Publications

The UGA Office of Sustainability's website provides information for students, faculty, staff, and the greater UGA community about all things sustainable at or around UGA. It is a nexus of links to news, events, and information about what individuals can do on their own, how they can get involved with initiatives and projects around campus, and sustainability-related events in the community. The website includes contact information for the Office and is a great resource for anyone who is interested in sustainability at UGA.

The UGA Office of Sustainability distributes a "Sustainable UGA Weekly Update" on the "SustainableUGA" listserv. This weekly email provides information about events & upcoming opportunities for community participation, as well as general announcements related to the UGA/Athens sustainability community.

The UGA Office of Sustainability maintains an active presence on social media through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Social media allows the Office connect with students quickly and garner excitement about current events, campaigns, and sustainability accomplishments across campus. Program Coordinator Andrew Lentini and at least one communications intern regularly manage the three accounts.

The Red & Black student newspaper has reporters assigned to a sustainability beat but there is not a routine column or article.

The Center for Undergraduate Research (CURO) provides a vehicle for all students to disseminate research findings and publications on which they have participated. The CURO Symposium, an annual research symposium at the University of Georgia, provides an opportunity for undergraduate researchers at various stages of the research process to present their research to the university’s academic community. The CURO symposium highlights excellence in research by undergraduate students, provides a forum for undergraduates to disseminate their research findings and creative works, and allows undergraduate researchers to engage, cooperate and communicate with their peers and university faculty and administrators. The symposium includes is a vehicle to publish research in any field, and thus is not specifically sustainability-focused. That said, many students choose to focus their research on sustainability, and the CURO symposium is the best and most broadly-known vehicle for undergraduate research recognition across campus. Additionally, the Center for Integrative Conservation Research (CICR) coordinates an annual Sustainability Science Symposium to catalyze interdisciplinary collaboration in sustainability science research and practice at UGA and beyond. This symposium does not feature undergraduate research but does feature exclusively sustainability-related scientific research.

A display in the main lobby of UGA’s Science Library communicates benefits of a visible green roof immediately outside of the lobby. An EcoScreen building dashboard in the main lobby of the Jackson Street Building provides information on sustainable site design strategies, as well as other green building elements which contribute to the building’s LEED-Gold rating.

UGA Dining Services' website offers information about its sustainability efforts. Some highlights: Trayless Dining: After studying the impact of trayless dining, UGA Dining Services took a big step to reduce waste by removing trays from their five dining commons. Trayless dining has led to a 26.7% reduction in food waste and 16.4% reduction in water usage. 100% Compostable: Dining Services recently reached its goal of eliminating all non-compostable items from the dining commons. 100% of food waste in the dining commons is pulped and sent to UGA's Bioconversion Center where it is composted and reused on campus. Georgia Grown: “Georgia Grown” is a local-minded brand with deep roots in sustainability, quality and integrity. Each dining commons has menu items marked with the Georgia Grown icon. This icon means that an item contains ingredients sourced from Georgia. Recycling: UGA Dining Services outlines how it addresses the concepts of Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling on its website. Vegan and Vegetarian Options: Every dining hall menu indicates vegan and vegetarian options for those who choose not to consume meat and/or animal byproducts. Menu hardcopies/brochures are available to be picked up at the front of each dinning hall and are also available on the following website.

Several signs on campus indicate that landscape fountains are either a) replenished through harvested non-potable water or b) turned off in drought periods to conserve water. Physical signage is installed on campus denoting rain gardens, pollinator gardens, cisterns, and other sustainable design features in the landscape.

The Office of Sustainability website provides a "Campus as a Living Lab" map which highlights sustainable features on the University of Georgia Athens campus, which functions as a living laboratory where sustainability is researched, taught, practices, and continually refined. As UGA continues to grow, new development and redevelopment is modeled after the historic North Campus quadrangles. These developments serve as resources for teaching and research and provide opportunities to enhance the experiential learning of UGA's students. The guiding principles of UGA's Master Plan include creating a walkable campus, protecting natural resources, and optimizing the student environment. This interactive map allows users to explore campus virtually and encourages visitation, use, and appreciation of over 35 sustainable sites on UGA's vast campus. https://sustainability.uga.edu/academics/experiential-learning/campus-as-a-living-laboratory/ -------------------- Three additional "sustainability walk" maps exist and are featured as Resources on the Watershed UGA website. Watershed UGA is a town/gown stream restoration and protection initiative aimed at engaging the campus community in sustainability through watersheds. The maps focus on North, South, and East campus and highlight watersheds as well as other sustainability features. North: https://watershed.uga.edu/mapset/6 South: https://watershed.uga.edu/mapset/5 East: https://watershed.uga.edu/mapset/7 -------------------- The University of Georgia has been designated a Tree Campus USA, and its arboretum is a point of pride for anyone who has visited, lived, worked, or studied on its campus. Stately, noble trees provide human scale, a sense of place, cooling shade, and tranquility to students, faculty, staff and visitors. A “Tree Walk” and the accompanying map was the first project of the University of Georgia Campus Arboretum initiative. The UGA Campus Arboretum Walking Tour of Trees arranges campus into three sections: North, Central and South. A tree identification plaque is attached either directly to the tree or on a stake near the tree. Each plaque identifies the tree by name and has a number to correspond to the map. The UGA Campus Arboretum Walking Tour of Trees is provided by the College of Agriculture & Environmental Science. http://www.caes.uga.edu/departments/horticulture/research/uga-arboretum-walking-tour-of-trees.html

The UGA Office of Sustainability website provides a number of resources for commuters traveling both to and from campus, as well as around the internal campus. The "Transportation" page of the website provides information on: --UGA and Athens Transit --Bulldog Bikes, UGA's campus bike share program --Bicycling at UGA --UGA reCYCLE, a need-based bicycle recycling and redistribution program for the UGA campus community --Walking on campus --Electric vehicles on campus

As stated above, the "Transportation" page of the Office of Sustainability website provides educational information for bicyclists and pedestrians, including: --Rules of the road and safety --Parking and security --Q&As about getting a bike --Maintenance --What to do with unwanted bikes --Biking for recreation Additionally, the Office of Sustainability provides bike safety literature and bike maps in the office and at relevant events through partnership with Bike Athens, a local bike advocacy organization.

UGA Housing provides up-to-date information on how sustainability can be incorporated into the residential experience, including hall programming,on its website. The UGA Office of Sustainability website also provides information on sustainability in UGA Housing, plus information on Health and Wellness, Transportation, Student Involvement opportunities, and other ways students can incorporate sustainability into their residential college experience. Additionally, Eco-Reps in each hall Community Council regularly lead programming and lessons that introduce residential students to new ways to incorporate sustainability into day-to-day residential life. (See Student Educators section for more info on this.)