UGArden Anniversary

UGArden began as a small student-led proposal in 2010, utilizing a Veterinary College-owned space that once hosted sheep and cattle. Over time, it has blossomed into a 10-acre cornerstone of community, sustainability, and student engagement.

Located just off South Milledge Avenue, UGArden celebrated its 15th anniversary earlier this year. More than just a place to grow vegetables, the space has grown into a living classroom, a food source, and a hub for community wellness.

In the beginning, UGArden was a small, shared garden in a multipurpose space. The students who initiated the project had a collective passion for gardening and sustainability. Over time, the garden’s beds expanded along with its impact.

When the garden began to grow more food than the students could consume themselves, they turned to the community to offload produce. UGArden partnered with Campus Kitchen, a student-powered hunger relief program through the Office of Service Learning.

Together they began turning the harvest into meals, providing fresh produce and prepared food for the Athens community, in which about 1 in 6 residents and almost 1 in 4 children face food insecurity.

Mr. Justin “Ty” Brooks’s journey with UGArden began in 2017 as a graduate student in Agricultural Education. While completing the now-retired Organic Certificate program, he interned at UGArden and enjoyed his time in the space.

After graduating, Ty honed his skills at a community garden in Winder, Georgia, and grew crops on his own farm. That practical experience laid the foundation for his current role. When he ran into the previous farm manager, Johanna Biang, at the Athens Farmer’s Market, she mentioned the director role for UGArden becoming available – a perfect opportunity.

Since taking on the director role in 2023, Ty has overseen infrastructure improvements and expanded UGArden’s offerings:

• A new drainage and vegetable washing system
• A small peach orchard
• A solar-powered, off-grid farm stand, which has already moved 2,600 pounds of produce into the hands of community members within the past 2 months
• Improved herbal section packaging in bags and sachets, which are being purchased by the campus dining hall
  

All these innovations feed back into UGArden’s mission to support student education and strengthen the local community.

UGArden relies on current farm manager April McCoy, the AmeriCorps VISTAs and countless student workers and volunteers to maintain operations. As UGArden looks to the future, expanding student engagement remains a top priority. “Fifteen years is no small feat,” said Ty. Any volunteer work is appreciated, even just “an hour or two here or there.”

Following Thanksgiving, UGArden will host a Holiday Market featuring garden grown herbal tea bags and sachets—perfect for a cozy gift that gives back.

After 15 years of harvests, partnerships, and purpose, UGArden continues to stand as an example of what happens when students, community, and sustainability come together. UGArden welcomes new volunteers through the Engage Georgia Platform and its own website.

For more educational information about UGArden, please visit the website and view the latest episode of GPS’s “A Fork in the Road” featuring UGArden.