University of Georgia
OP-9: Landscape Management

UGA Land Use

-- 826 total acres including Health Sciences Campus and new Vet Med Learning Center
-- 193 acres included within building footprints
-- 633 acres outside building footprints
-- 69 acres undeveloped land
-- 564 acres developed and maintained

The UGArden is a student lead initiative that utilizes organic land management on a 4.5 acre site that produces food. Their mission statement is as follows:
Mission:
The UGArden Education and Demonstration Farm will research, teach and promote sustainable agriculture and systems of localized food distribution. By integrating academic curriculum with the University of Georgia’s land resources and the local food economy, UGArden will provide a unique laboratory for understanding and developing local-scale solutions to global food challenges. UGArden will bring to the table a wide range of participants, facilitating collaboration among people from diverse personal and academic backgrounds.

Objectives:
• Provide space to teach hands-on sustainable farming/gardening methods
• Provide a place for the greater UGA community to learn about sustainable food systems
• Provide fresh organic produce to families in needs in the local community
• Provide space for students to engage students in practical research projects
• Provide opportunities for engagement between UGA and the greater Athens community
• Closely connect UGA to its food system
https://ugarden.uga.edu

The University of Georgia’s Horticulture Research Farm also utilizes organic land care methods on a 6 acre plot. This area is an essential tool that provides "on the ground" training for students.
https://hort.caes.uga.edu/about/facilities/farm.html

The goal of the Georgia IPM program is to utilize a science-based decision making process to increase the implementation of IPM practices in Georgia agriculture in order to minimize environmental and economic risks from pests and pest management strategies. The IPM program works to achieve this goal through:

1.development of integrated pest management plans through specialized research and innovation and
2.effective communication with growers, commodity groups, and regional and national IPM centers Management practices are focused on reducing human health and environmental risks associated with pest management, and improving the cost benefit of IPM practices for producers. Specifically, the IPM program works to develop new pest management strategies, provide education to both public and private entities, and to promote implementation and adoption of these practices through extension.

IPM is a systems-based approach to managing pest populations, which minimizes economic, environmental, and public health risks. IPM focuses on incorporating all management strategies (chemical, mechanical, biological, cultural) in order to maintain pest populations below an economic threshold. Extension and research personnel from the University of Georgia, in cooperation with growers, suppliers, homeowners and other stakeholder groups, have teamed up to create a comprehensive IPM program for the state of Georgia.

The goal of the Georgia IPM program is to utilize a science-based decision-making process to increase the implementation of IPM practices in Georgia agriculture in order to minimize human health and environmental risks associated with pest management and improve the cost-benefit of IPM practices for producers. The IPM program works to achieve this goal through:

1. development of new pest management strategies through research and innovation
2. provide education to both public and private entities
3. promote implementation and adoption of these practices through Extension
4. effective communication with growers, commodity groups, and regional and national IPM centers.

Native plants are used extensively at UGA. The Georgia Piedmont and southeastern US provide a palette of plants that are adapted to the region and contribute to the sense of place at UGA. In addition to prioritizing native plant materials in new plantings, University Architects, FMD Grounds Department and engaged student groups are actively removing exotic invasive plants from the UGA campus.

The University Grounds Department, in cooperation with the Department of Biological and Agricultural Enginering, operates a large Bioconversion Center for the processing of organic waste into compost. This opperation is a fully permitted solid waste handling facility and accepts all leaf, limb, and other landscape waste as well as a large percentage of the animal bedding and other organic waste generated on University lands in the Athens area. This facility combines academic research and outreach with a large, municipal-scale processing operation which produces approximately 5,000 cubic yards annually of screened compost used to restore soil fertility and amend existing compacted and depleted soils to promote stormwater infiltration and plant growth.

Athens, Ga sees little snowfall each other, averaging about 2 inches over the course of the year. The Grounds Department within the Physical Plant Division implements sand as its first precautionary measure to mitigate the dangers of snow and ice. Concentrating on high pedestrian areas, and only in cases of heavy ice or snow, "Snow Melt" is applied in limited quantities to help facilitate melting. On the whole, chlorine-based products are avoided, and naturally-based products are employed such as urea-based products which are far less damaging to natural systems.