University of West Georgia
EN-9: Community Partnerships

The University of West Georgia (UWG) maintains an ongoing supportive relationship with the local NGO "Keep Carroll Beautiful". This NGO emphasizes recycling and environmental awareness. UWG and Keep Carroll Beautiful have cooperated closely in organizing Earth Week events and recycling initiatives. The best example of the supportive role played by the University can be found in the yearly Sustainability Expo. The scope here is the creation of an event that brings together the various organizations and business in the local area that are involved with sustainability. The expo is held outside in downtown Carrollton and is open to the public - entertainment and food are offered. The idea is for this event to raise awareness about sustainability and what kind of sustainability activities are ongoing in the community. The Sustainability Expo is the largest public sustainability event in Carrollton and occurs around Earth Week. This particular event takes about two months to plan – weekly meetings are held at the University with University volunteers and Keep Carroll Beautiful staff. The University finances this event by renting the Amphitheater in downtown, buying advertisement, and arranging the entertainment. Keep Carroll Beautiful uses its extensive network to ensure that sustainability actors participate in the event.

The University of West Georgia (UWG) maintains an ongoing collaborative partnership with Tanner Medical Center in maintaining a campus garden. The larger scope (as established by Tanner) is to improve the health of residents in a rural three county area in West Georgia, including low-income, uninsured, and underserved individuals to promote healthier lifestyle initiatives. Tanner received a grant worth over one million dollars to establish community gardens in pursuit of this aim. The University has teamed up with Tanner to establish and maintain one of these gardens on the University campus. The aim of the garden is to provide fresh, free produce for students and staff and to increase awareness of healthy eating and low-impact farming. Tanner’s current strategic plan, which emphasizes the growth and maintenance of community gardens, lasts for five years, but collaboration may be extended beyond this time frame. The University’s commitment has involved providing land, supplies, and trained staff to look after the garden and to manage the volunteers. Tanner has helped with the building of a greenhouse and publicity. Governance is relatively informal – the University is not deeply involved in the other gardens that Tanner has sponsored and facilitated, but meetings regarding the University garden are held as needed, usually around specific events and volunteer drives.