Emory University Pilots Organic Campus Care

In a win for student advocates, Emory University launches an organic pilot program to improve biodiversity and protect student health. 

For immediate release, October 19, 2023

Atlanta, GA - Following over three years of student-led advocacy in affiliation with Re:wild Your Campus, Emory University has begun implementing organic land care practices on four sites on their campus. Spanning 2 acres, the organic program includes sites in a popular nature preserve on campus and several sites near their busiest  academic buildings. The pilot projects will improve campus health and safety for students and the larger campus community and will also provide significant environmental benefits. 

“This really is a huge step towards prioritizing human and environmental health,” said Mackenzie Feldman, project director of Re:wild Your Campus. “We are so proud of the Re:wild Your Campus student fellows who began advocating for this years ago and whose tireless efforts have been integral to achieving this victory.” 

Students have been campaigning for organic pilot projects since 2019, spearheaded by Lindsey Kapel when she was a student fellow with Re:wild Your Campus. Leading up to this monumental win, Re:wild Emory hosted weeding days, installed signage to educate the wider Emory and Atlanta community about the importance of native plants, and even installed a native plant wall, which is a food-producing, organically managed community space on campus.

“These organic pilot projects are the culmination of the foundational initiatives we’ve done," shared Nicole Pozzo, the co-leader of Re:wild Your Campus Emory and a recent Emory graduate. “I am so excited to be working with both the facilities department at Emory and with Re:wild Your Campus to make lasting change on my alma mater’s campus.”

Pozzo and co-leader, Naurica Encarnación, have begun conducting research on the impacts of the transition. Their research includes both qualitative and quantitative data collection. The qualitative data is focused on understanding the current attitudes faculty, staff and grounds workers report about organic land care. The quantitative data analysis efforts will analyze soil test results before, during and after the transition in the hopes of assessing changes to the soil microbiome that can be attributed to organic landcare.

“We’re really excited to see the results of our research,” noted Naurica Encarnación, recent Emory graduate. “Data shows that organic transitions can save water and money, and we are hoping the same holds true for Emory’s campus.”

Research from Re:wild Your Campus shows that organic land care on campuses can reduce overall costs by 25%, decrease water needs by 37%, and improve soil health in the long run. This is achieved by eliminating the use of synthetic inputs frequently used on college campuses, and instead focusing on optimizing soil chemistry and microbial density. 

The project was made possible in part by funding from Daughters for Earth, a movement of women and girls around the world who are rising up to solve climate change and heal our one and only home.

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Re:wild Your Campus 

Re:wild Your Campus is harnessing the power of student action to create safer, more sustainable living and learning environments for all by starting locally and advocating for organic land care on college campuses. This movement empowers the next generation of environmental leaders to redesign their campuses as a solution to the climate, biodiversity, and human-wellbeing crises through eliminating herbicides and promoting pollinator health, native plants, and edible landscapes. Re:wild Your Campus is a fiscally sponsored project of Re:wild. Learn more at: rewild.org/rewild-your-campus.

Contact

Re:wild Your Campus

Sheina Crystal 

scrystal@rewild.org

202-469-2674