Ei Tours Resume with 4Roots Farm Campus Tour

On May 17 an entourage of Elemental Impact (Ei) Advisors visited the 4Roots Farm Campus (4Roots) in Orlando for the first post-pandemic Ei Tour. In the Ei Era of Recycling Refinement (RR) (2010 Ei inception through June 2017,) Ei hosted a plethora of tours as educational vehicles with subsequent strategy sessions on potential initiatives, projects, and pilots. A variety of tours continued within the Ei Era of Regeneration (June 2017 to present.)

Importance of Tours

Ei Tour Group ready to tour the
Novelis aluminum-recycling plant
Photo courtesy of Holly Elmore Images

At the foundation of Ei’s tagline Regeneration in ACTION is integrity. Ei Partners are committed to working as a team to develop flexible programs and practices that evolve along with shifts in technology, circumstances, and economic parameters. Education is essential to weave integrity within program and practice development. Tours are excellent vehicles to learn first-hand about industry practices and fellow-partner business expertise. 

During the Ei Era of RR, Ei hosted industry and partner tours designed for experiential education, strategic planning, and bonding among the Ei Team. Tour participation was open to Ei Partners, Strategic Allies, and Advisory Council Members.

Era of RR Tours
During the Era of RR, the plethora of Ei Tours were categorized as Industry, Sustainable Food Court Initiative (SFCI), and Ei Partner Tours.

Ei Industry Tours
Prior to embarking on program and practice development, Ei strived to understand current industry practices and baselines. Tours of industry-leader operations was an effective and efficient avenue for garnering education and support.

From the archives, a unique, interesting, and fun tour was the two-day 2013 Tennessee State-Prison Tour:

TRICOR Tour Group

Federal and state prison systems are a potential labor and facility resource for Recycling-Refinement systems in the development phase. A group of Ei Partners, Supporters, and pals converged on Tennessee in late September to meet Fred Roach of TRICOR (Tennessee’s prison-employment system), tour operations, and explore synergies and opportunities. 

The Regeneration in ACTION (RiA) Magazine article, Prisons: Valuable Resource for Recycling Refinement Systems?!, provides a brief history of Ei / TRICOR relationship and an overview of the impressive tours; the Ei FB album, 09-13 TRICOR TN Prison Tours, is a pictorial recap.

SFCI Tours
The SFCI Team toured pilot facilities to amass first-hand experience of baseline practices in-place. Tours were excellent vehicles to establish strong working relationships with the on-site managers responsible for operations and facility maintenance.

From the archives, the Atlanta International Airport – Int’l Concourse SFCI Tour was a high honor. The SFCI Team toured the then busiest airport in the world's International Concourse while it remained under construction:

SFCI-ATL Tour Group

The SFCI Team was treated to a tour of the near-complete Atlanta Airport International Concourse. In addition to gorgeous aesthetic design, the International Concourse layout included ample back-of-the-house space, including the loading-dock area, to integrate recycling and organics collection into standard-operating practices. 

The RiA Magazine article, SFCI Team Tours New ATL Airport Int’l Concourse, gives an overview of the tour, and the Ei FB album, 04-12-12 SFCI Team Tour of ATL Airport, is a pictorial recount of the exciting tour.

Ei Partner Tours
Annually, an Ei Partner, or group of Partners, hosted their fellow Partners at their headquarters for a series of tours over a two-day period. Partners traveled from across North America for the event and had fun while learning about their fellow Partner's business model, strategies, and operations.

Ei Partner Tour Group at the GWCC
Photo courtesy of Holly Elmore Images

With few to no competitors among the Ei Partners, the synergies were tremendous along with an openness to share internal operations and programs. An added benefit of Ei Partner participation was the strong business potential among partners. Selling was not permitted within Ei introductions; yet, relationship development that segues naturally into business transactions was highly encouraged.

From the archives, the 2014 Atlanta Ei Partner Tours was the final tour and celebrated its ten-year anniversary within the timeframe of publishing this article:

In early June 2014 Ei Partners traveled from across North America to participate in the Atlanta Ei Partner Tours, hosted by Pratt Industries, Novelis, the Georgia World Congress Center, and the Atlanta Airport. Beyond the education inherent within the tours and presentations, Ei Partners used the time together to strategize on action points within the many Ei initiatives.

The IMPACT Magazine article, Atlanta Ei Partner Tours, is an overview of the two powerful days. For a pictorial recap visit the Ei FB Album, Atlanta Ei Partner Tours.

Era of Regeneration Tours
Though their focus shifted, tours remained integral to Ei's important work within the Era of Regeneration. Ei Farm Tours and Ei Explorations took center stage until the pandemic in 2020.

Ei Farm Tours
From a soil health perspective, farms may be harmful or extraordinarily beneficial to restoring the carbon-cycle balance. Ei Farm Tours focus on the many success stories where farms restore broken soil systems through regenerative agriculture.

From the archives, the 2019 Greenville Urban Farm Tours were inspiring:

Reedy River Farms

While in Greenville for the Healthy-Food School Programs meetings, Ei Strategic Ally Mary Hipp, Feed & Seed Chair, took Holly on tours of two prominent, impressive urban farms, Reedy River Farms and Horseshoe Farm.

The Greenville urban farm tours are chronicled in the RiA Magazine article, Greenville, #yeahthatgreenville, is a southern treasure; the Holly Elmore Images (HEI) FB album, Greenville, SC, is a pictorial recount of Holly’s May Greenville visit with sections on the farm tours.

Ei Explorations
Ei Explorations bring industry leaders and experts together to strategize on solutions for challenges facing humanity and life as we know it on our planet.

From the archives, the inaugural exploration, the 2018 Ei Exploration of Fungi, Soil Health & World Hunger, was monumental and continues to influence current Ei focus areas and initiatives:

Part of the Ei Exploration Group

On October 16, 2018, Ei hosted the first Ei Exploration. A group of diverse, passionate industry leaders traveled from California, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to participate in the Ei Exploration of Fungi, Soil Health, and World Hunger in Upstate South Carolina. The empowering day was in partnership with Ei Strategic Ally Feed & Seed.

The RiA Magazine article, An Exploration of Fungi, Soil Health, & World Hunger, chronicles the event; the Ei FB album, An Exploration of Fungi, Soil Health & World Hunger, gives a pictorial recap.

Ei Moves | Tours Resume
With the onset of the global pandemic in 2020, Ei tours ceased along with other in-person activities. Ei's 2021 move further delayed scheduling tours.

In 2021, Ei Founder & CEO Holly Elmore returned to her hometown, Sarasota, Florida, after residing in Atlanta for 40 years. Along with Holly, the Ei national and global headquarters moved to Florida.

Until fall 2022, Holly's primary focus was caregiving for her elderly mother, and Ei slipped into the chrysalis stage of a major metamorphosis. As documented in the Ei Milestones page, Ei built a strong foundation within Sarasota's environmental community while in the chrysalis stage.

By late 2023, impressive Sarasota-based environmental professionals served on the the Ei Advisory Council, and Holly joined the Table2Farms Team as a Principal and Industry Expert.

Ei Tours resumed with the May 17, 2024 4Roots Tour.

4 Roots Farm Campus

Unearthing the Power of Food to Build Healthy Communities

4Roots is an alliance of community stakeholders investing in a healthy, thriving, sustainable, food system.

Located on a donated 40-acre tract of urban land, the 4Roots campus is a well-planned community-based endeavor that is a work-in-progress. The campus is strategically located in the southern Packing District less than two miles from Downtown Orlando. 

February 2024 4Roots Meeting Group
Photo courtesy of Holly Elmore Images

A refurbished orange-packing warehouse serves as the 4Roots offices along with workspace for several of their collaborative partners. The HUGE walk-in cooler is perfect for storing farm harvests and food donations as well as prepping food for the community.

According to the 4Roots Program Impact Statement:

4Roots is dedicated to unearthing the power of food to build healthy communities. By engaging the community to think more deeply about where and how food is grown, and why it matters, 4Roots aims to restore and maintain the delicate balance between people and planet.

4Roots is in the midst of a major evolution broken down into three phrases:

1. Phase I - Education
2. Phase II - Community
3. Phase III - Innovation & Discovery

February 4Roots Visit
After the February 2024 U.S. Composting Council Conference hosted in Daytona Beach, Holly was treated to an amazing three-hour introductory meeting at 4Roots; Holly attended the meeting at the invitation of her close friend Kim Charick, EPA R4 Team Lead, Food Waste Prevention.

The RiA Magazine article, Life Spirals: long-time friends, new professional horizons, provides an overview of the 4Roots organization, mission, and current endeavors; the HEI-photo album, 4Roots Campus Tour, gives a pictorial recount of the amazing three hours spent at the campus.

Ei 4Roots Tour
Ei Advisors Bridgett Luther, Table2Farms Visionary & CEO, Steve Suau, Consultant at Carbon Life, and Tim Rumage, Planetary Ethicist and Professor of Environmental Studies at Ringling College of Art and Design, joined Holly for the May 17 Ei 4Roots Tour, the first formal Ei Tour since 2019. Dave Gwatney joined the entourage as Steve's guest.

Ei Tour Group at the Greenhouse
Photo courtesy of Holly Elmore Images

4Roots Executive Director Tommy Ward welcomed the Ei group with an informative introductory meeting in the conference room. As the Ei Advisors were well versed via the RiA article's 4Roots synopsis and a 4Roots intro-PPT presentation, the meeting quickly segued into inquiries and intriguing conversation.

After the meeting, 4Roots Program Director Brianna Rodermal hosted the group on a tour of the warehouse followed by visits to the Education Center and the greenhouse. In the warehouse, Wrigglebrew Founder & CEO Sam Baker welcomed the group to the Wrigglebrew lab. Along with a product intro, Sam explained the technical process inherent within the worm-casting-based Plant Growth & Rescue liquid fertilizer. Holly and Bridgett purchased product for their home gardens.

Next O-Town Compost Founder Charlie Pioli educated the group on the food waste-collection-for- compost operations headquartered within the spacious 4Roots warehouse. O-Town offers residential-food waste-collection services for the Orlando-metro area. Custom commercial programs are available as well as office and event-collection services. O-Town Compost serves as a hauler and delivers the collected food waste to select farms who compost the material.

4Roots Greenhouse
4Roots Farm Manager Josh Taylor met the group at the recently opened seven-hoop greenhouse to showcase the impressive practices in place. Hydroponics, aquaponics, and in-soil farming techniques are incorporated within the seven hoops. Tilapia excrement fertilizes hydroponic-grown vegetables; the hydroponic cucumbers were robust from the natural fertilizer. 

Tilapia tank next to cucumbers
Photo courtesy of Holly Elmore Images

As visitors are not permitted in the greenhouse due to contamination and food-safety concerns, Josh shared the greenhouse status via the viewing alcoves with large windows.

Crops grown in the greenhouse are destined for sale via the Fresh by 4Roots (their CSA - community supported agriculture - program,) and donations through their Meet the Need program. Additionally, the crops will be sold and/or donated to community partners. Ultimately, the greenhouse produce as well as tilapia harvests will service campus restaurants designated to open in Phase II.

The entire greenhouse project is currently funded through partner philanthropy and grants. 

Across the wetlands from the greenhouse are the flow hives for the campus bees. Introduced in 2015, the innovative flow hives allow honey extraction without opening the hive. Additionally, the 4Roots flow hives have clear windows, which are ideal for viewing and experiential learning.

As with all 4Roots endeavors, research and education are intertwined within the program purpose and operations. 

Culinary Health Institute
Beginning in July, the Culinary Health Institute (CHI) will assess the phytonutrient composition of the harvested fruits, vegetables and plants via rigorous testing. Construction of the CHI facility within the 4Roots campus is included in Phase II. Per the website, 

The Culinary Health Institute’s mission is to understand how different growing methods for food impact nutrient quality, and how that nutrient quality impacts chronic illness. We also aim to improve access to healthy foods for underserved communities. In collaboration with medical schools, we aim to educate the next generation of doctors and allied health professionals on the impact of whole food, plant-forward diets, and the importance of other lifestyle changes to heal the body.

The two-minute video featuring 4Roots Founder & CEO John Rivers and CHI Chief Medical Officer Dr. Monica Agarwal is an excellent CHI overview. Under Dr. Agarwal's leadership, the CHI will research the impact of nutrition on chronic illness; in partnership with the 4Roots Farm, the CHI intends to understand how improved food quality improves human health.

Education Center*
The multiple-award-winning Education Center (EC) is the first building in Florida to attain the energy-petal certification of the Living Building Challenge, a monumental achievement! With the EC slated for occupancy in late July, the 4Roots Farm Campus will complete Phase I - Education of the campus plan.

Back of the Education Center
Photo courtesy of Holly Elmore Images

As workers were busy within the EC, Brianna welcomed the Ei group into the impressive building. Glass walls and windows within the EC are Halio Smart Glass, the only dynamic glass that tints in real-time to optimal levels as daylight changes. Per Tommy, the smart glass deciphers weather conditions and communicates to the building operating system with commands such as turn on fans, turn up the air conditioning, open windows, etc.

Designed in a modular fashion as the first mass-timber commercial structure in Florida, the EC may be completely dismantled, moved, and reassembled in another location. As required by the Living Building Challenge, the majority of the building's structural components were sourced from within 400 miles of the 4Roots campus.

Beyond energy efficient, the EC solar panel system is expected to generate at least 105% of the building's electricity requirements. Excess electricity will be stored in an onsite microgrid for use in other facilities. Rainwater and air conditioning condensation are collected in four large citrines for use in toilet flushing and outdoor-farm irrigation. 

4Roots partnered with Valencia College for use of the EC state-of-the-art facilities. An estimated 400 students will take a total three courses hosted at the EC.

The HEI-photo gallery, 05-17-24 4Roots Farm Campus Tour, provides a pictorial recount of the 4Roots tour.

* the majority of the EC section copy was paraphrased or directly quoted from Tommy's answers to the author's questions.

Phase II
With the completion of Phase I slated for next month, 4Roots is preparing for Phase II - Community. According to John in a November 2023 press release:

4Roots Phase II Rendering

"The second phase of the Farm Campus shifts the focus from education to the community, it is designed to create a place to gather where guests, from children to grandparents, will “wander in wonder” learning about the beauty and importance of nature and the important role it plays in both planet and human health, It provides spaces for our community to come together to learn, listen and celebrate.”

 Details of $28.1 million Phase II include:

• Event Center: 7,500 sq. ft. with 300 seats
• Community Green: ¾ acre with 4,300 sq. ft. stage
• Café and retail space: 5,100 sq. ft.
• Culinary Health Institute: 5,300 sq. ft.

From the press release:

“As we near the completion of Phase I which focused on education, the board at Dr. Phillips was inspired to continue our investment into Phase II,” said Ken Robinson, President & CEO, Dr. Phillips Inc. “The new phase allows 4Roots to invite a broader community of students, farmers, scientists, and the public to the Farm Campus and build out its programmatic schedule beyond education. Dr. Phillips commitment of an additional $5,000,000 for the newest phase puts our total commitment to the 4Roots Farm Campus at $11,000,000. We applaud their efforts and are proud to continue our support of 4Roots.”

As of publication of this article, Phase II funding efforts continue.

Fully settled in the new Sarasota-based headquarters and emerged from the chrysalis stage, Ei was honored to resume Ei Tours via the 4Roots Farm Campus Tour. Future tours will showcase 4Roots incredible vision and accomplishments to new audiences and potential funders.

_______________________________________

Tax-deductible donations in any amount are greatly appreciated to support Ei's important work. 

DONATE HERE

About Earth Impact:

Earth Impact (formerly Elemental Impact) (Ei) is a 501(c)3 non-profit founded in 2010 as the home to the Zero Waste Zones, the forerunner in the nation for the commercial collection of food waste for compost. In June 2017, Ei announced the Era of Recycling Refinement was Mission Accomplished and entered the Era of Regeneration (June 2017 - June 2024). Focus areas included Nature Prevails, Soil Health | Regenerative Agriculture, and Water Use | Toxicity.

The Regeneration in ACTION Magazine articles, From Organic Certification to Regenerative Agriculture to Rewilding Landscapes: an evolution towards soil integrity and SOIL & WATER: the foundation of life, published to explain and substantiate the importance of Ei’s rewilding urban landscapes work within the Nature Prevails focus area. What We Eat Matters is an emerging platform that intertwines within the three focus areas.

As Ei enters the Era of Impact (June 2024 – present,) gears shift to a new business model, Ei Educates. Though education was always integral to Ei’s important work, the  primary focus was on projects, pilots, and initiatives supported by Ei Partners. The Regeneration Era focus areas carry over into the Era of Impact.

The Holly Elmore Images Rewilding Urban Landscapes-album folder documents two active pilots: the Native-Plant Landscape Pilot and the Backyard Permaculture-Oriented Pilot. The Ei Pilots serve as an educational program.

MISSION:

To work with industry leaders to create best regenerative operating practices where the entire value-chain benefits, including corporate bottom lines, communities, and the environment. Through education and collaboration, establish best practices as standard practices.

Ei’s tagline – Regeneration in ACTION – is the foundation for Ei endeavors.

The following mantra is at the core of Ei work:

Ei is a creator, an incubator.

Ei determines what could be done that is not being done and gets it done.

Ei brings the possible out of impossible.

Ei identifies pioneers and creates heroes.

For additional information, contact Holly Elmore at 404-510-9336 | holly@earth-impact.org.

Spartanburg County School District Six: a culture of EXCELLENCE!

Under the leadership of Spartanburg County School District Six (SCSD6) Superintendent Dr. Darryl Owings, a culture of excellence infiltrates the district's entire spectrum of operations. With the strong support of the nine-member School Board, Darryl ensures the SCSD6 adheres to their mission to always put the children first.

The SCSD6 administrative offices as well as the main district campus are located in Roebuck, SC on a sprawling 292-acre tract of land. Intertwined within the SCSD6 facilities are natural wetlands, wooded areas, and walking trails available for students and the community.

Within the Roebuck vicinity, a profound community spirit permeates the local area. Steeped in pre-Revolutionary War heritage, Roebuck is the home to the Walnut Grove Plantation, Charles and Mary Moore's residence built in 1765 on land granted to them in 1763 by King George III. The Walnut Grove Plantation is on the National Register of Historic Places and open to the public as a living history farm.

Over 2016 and 2017, the South Carolina (SC) Conservation Bank purchased a total of 120 acres of family-owned land from Charles and Mary Moore's descendants. In 2016, Upstate Forever protected the land with a conservation easement to set aside the land for educational and agricultural purpose. The Spartanburg County Foundation owns the protected land while Upstate Forever administers the property. In a long-term agreement, SCSD6 leases 16 acres to use as an organic farm to grow produce for the district schools.

Per the Upstate Forever site, partial funding from the South Carolina (SC) Conservation Bank offsets some of the costs involved in placing the easement, making the land donation, and endowing the property’s perpetual care. The entire tract of land is known as the SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor.

Within the community spirit, resident Roger Milliken founded the Noble Tree Foundation in 1999 with the following mission: "To enhance the well-being of the citizens of Spartanburg County through the promotion of landscaping and excellence in horticulture." By definition, noble trees are planted to live for multiple generations while enhancing the landscape, providing shade, and grow into fixtures within the surrounding landscape. Some of the Milliken noble trees are visible from the SCSD6 campus.

Elemental Impact Visits Spartanburg
In October 2018 Elemental Impact (Ei) along with Ei Strategic Ally Feed & Seed hosted the Ei Exploration of Fungi, Soil Health and World Hunger. During the final exploration session at the Clemson organic-student farm, Feed & Seed Chair Mary Hipp shared on the amazing healthy-food school programs at SCSD6 as well as down the road 20+ miles at Greenville County Schools.

The tour group, left to right:
Greg, Mary and Darryl

Inspired, Ei Founder Holly Elmore traveled to Greenville | Spartanburg in May 2019 to meet the masterminds behind the healthy-food school programs and tour their respective operations. Mary was generous with her time, connections, and spirit as she hosted Holly for two-consecutive days of meetings and tours.

On May 14 Darryl, along with SCSD6 Deputy Superintendent Dr. Greg Cantrell, hosted Mary and Holly for an introductory meeting in the district's offices. Afterwards, Darryl and Greg took Mary and Holly on tours of the campus greenhouse followed by the SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor where healthy, organic food is grown for the school cafeterias. The locally grown, healthy-food commitment at SCSD6 was evident and impressive.

SCSD6 - at a glance
One of seven Spartanburg County districts, SCSD6 enrolls approximately 11,500 students, and the district employs nearly 900 certified staff members. The school system consists of one child development center, nine elementary schools, three middle schools, one ninth-grade school campus and one high school. The student teacher ratio is sixteen to one.

From the Census Reporter, SCSD6 is 150.6 square miles with a population just under 68,000 individuals. The median age is 37.2 years old and 26% of the population under 18 years of age live in poverty conditions.

Though the overall student graduation rate is 88.6%, for students who attended SCSD6 in grades 9-12 the graduation rate is 96.8 %. Committed to preparing students for successful lives, the R.D. Anderson Applied Technology Center (RDA) was a pioneer in the development of vocational centers in SC and a Palmetto Gold Winner for 11 years.

According to the RDA ATC Fast Fact Sheet, 2,875 students participated in RDA courses in the 2017-2018 school year. RDA offers certifications | licenses in a variety of fields including State Cosmetology License, Certified Nursing Assistant, First Aid / CPR / AED, Servsafe, and more. Local industry donated $40,000 for student scholarships in the 2017 - 2018 school year.

At Dorman High School, more than 90% of graduates attend a 2 or 4-year college, university, or enter the military and $19 million in scholarships was earned last school year. In the 2017 - 2018 school year, over 900 students completed dual-enrollment courses for college credit at no cost to them; over 800 completed AP exams and earned college credit.

Beyond student academics, within the SCSD6 culture of excellence is a commitment to student health and wellness.

Commitment to Health & Wellness

When students come first, a commitment to health and wellness naturally follows. As a significant step in serving students healthy, freshly prepared food, SCSD6 ended their third-party foodservice-operator contract and established internal culinary operations.

According the July 2015 GoUpstate.com article, Fresh-cooked meals catch on in District 6 schools, newly hired kitchen staff underwent extensive culinary training. Most of the staff were employees of prior the foodservice contracter and were familiar with the kitchens. Yet, their culinary tasks were mainly limited to heating and serving food that required minimal basic-kitchen skills.

Cragmoor Farm view from entrance

Culinary Partners (CP) provided the 36-hour course that educated the staff on basic-kitchen skills, nutrition, food safety, pallet development, and marketing skills to entice students to try the fresh-food options. During her tenure as Greenville County Schools Food and Nutrition Services (GCS FANS) Director, CP Executive Director Eileen Staples, spearheaded the Greenville schools healthy-food school program launch in 2010 with impressive results.

The RiA Magazine article, #schoolfoodROCKS: indeed, school food does rock in Greenville County, SC!, gives the history and evolution of the amazing school-foodservice program embarked upon by Eileen and further excelled under the current GCS FANS Director Joe Urban. A section in the Holly Elmore Images FB album, Greenville, SC, gives a pictorial recap of Ei's GSC FANS cafeteria tour and lunch.

In January 2014, SCSD6 hired Travis Fisher as the Director of Food Services to oversee the culinary operations in the fourteen cafeterias as well as the catering operations. A seasoned culinary professional, Travis started his career in the restaurant industry. More recently, Travis worked eight years at Aramark where he served as Assistant Director of Child Nutrition before his promotion to Executive Director of Foodservice at a SC-school district. Travis was an investment within the SCSD6 commitment to excellence.

SCSD6 greenhouse on the backside
of the Dorman Freshman Campus

SCSD6 SUCCESS: as shared in a WYFF July 2015 news report, SCSD6 served 38,000 more breakfasts, 106,000 more lunches, and 9,000 more dinners in the first year of serving healthy, from-scratch food to their students.

A natural extension of a healthy-food program is a farm-to-school focus supporting local agriculture. In 2016, SCSD6 evolved the farm-to-school focus to a campus-to-cafeteria endeavor with the construction of a greenhouse on the backside of the Dorman Freshman Campus. Buttercrunch lettuce, other lettuces, and herbs are grown in a Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) hydroponic growing system.

Per the RiA Magazine article, Success is not static: evolution is required to create and sustain regeneration, on Kennesaw State University's Hickory Grove Farm, a regenerative farm built on a prior Georgia Department of Transportation cement-mixing site:

Mary touring the greenhouse
NFT hydroponic system

In addition to not requiring soil for healthy crops, hydroponic-agriculture systems save tremendous water. According to a University of Arizona Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science 2011 article: 

A hydroponic lettuce system could use only 10 percent of the water needed compared to field-grown lettuce. Arizona uses about 70 percent of its water for agriculture. Theoretically, about 90 percent of all that water could be saved if every farm converted to hydroponics.

According to Greg, the greenhouse NFT system provides approximately 50% of the district cafeterias' lettuce consumption.

The Farm 2 School website page states there are currently six operating elementary-school gardens within the district, one middle-school garden, and more gardens are in the planning stages. In addition to providing nutritious food, the campus gardens and agricultural endeavors serve as a student-educational platform with formal and informal programs in place.

SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor 

Farm view from the packing house

In 2016, SCSD6 took possession of the 16-acre plot of land destined for the district's organic-certified farm within their Farm 2 School program. For the first year, farm staff tested the land to determine what could be grown crop-wise and officially opened as an operating farm in 2017. The SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor is the foundation for creating a hyper-local food system for SCSD6.

From inception, the SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor was U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Good Agricultural Practices certified. With the land in possession for three consecutive years, SCSD6 is in the midst of obtaining USDA Organic certification. In accordance with the USDA National Organic Program standards, organic crops must be grown on land that is free from prohibited pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers for three years preceding growth.

With the farm research complete, SCSD6 invested in the farm staff and equipment necessary to fully embark on the Farm 2 School initiative. In 2018, SCSD6 invested in an impressive packing house including a wash line for root crops, an ice machine for packing broccoli & other vegetables, and a dual walk-in cooler system.

Dual walk-in coolers in the
packing house

The coolers are maintained at different temperatures to maximize optimal shelf life and produce quality. In addition, it is important to store certain fruits and vegetables separately. For example, onions and potatoes excrete incompatible gasses that lead to faster spoilage.

Only root vegetables are cleaned in the wash line as rinsing fruits and vegetables may lead to earlier spoilage. Thus, field crops such a zucchini, squash, watermelon, tomatoes, lettuces, and herbs are field-packed and washed in the cafeterias prior to kitchen prep. Lettuces and herbs from the greenhouse are transported to packing house where they are aggregated with the farm crops for delivery to the district cafeterias via a refrigerated truck.

Installed in March 2019, the farm high tunnel is used to germinate seedlings for crop planting. As seedlings were previously germinated in the greenhouse, NFT lettuce and herb production may be increased due to freed greenhouse space. The high tunnel may serve as a totally or partially enclosed facility; when totally enclosed the seedlings are protected from insect pests.

A tomato greenhouse is under construction with an August completion date.

SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor bee hives

In April 2017, honey bees arrived at the SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor thanks to Dorman High School Resource Officer, Sean Roberts. As a beekeeper, Sean delivered approximately 20,000 bees to the farm for aiding in crop pollination as well as the delicious honey byproduct. The Bees Arrive at SC Spartanburg County School District Six! video on the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group website is excellent coverage of the bees' arrival.

Aligning with a national trend, SCSD6 purchased a food truck in 2018 to service special events and camps within the district. Via the USDA-sponsored Summer Meals Program, SCSD6 distributes free lunches to children under 18 years old, regardless of whether they live in the district or not.

In the final development stages, the goal is for the Farm at Cragmoor to attain self-sustaining financial status by 2021. Revenue is derived from the district cafeterias who pay market rate for the farm produce and the summer Farmers Market hosted at the farm. As peak produce season is during the district's summer break, the Farmers Market allows the farm to maximize the crop production with a financially rewarding outcome. The market is open to the community.

Ethan & Patricia

Farm staff includes three full-time field workers, two full-time seasonal workers, and one part-time staff member. In addition to field responsibilities, Ethan Jarrett works in the packing house as well as administers crop planning, seed sourcing, and product distribution.

From a management perspective, Philip Ward joined the SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor team almost from inception. Philip is responsible for soil health, land preparation, and equipment maintenance. Recently, Lisa Stansell left her GCS agriculture-teacher position to join SCSD6 as the Farm 2 School Director. In her new role, Lisa oversees the entire Farm 2 School program including farm and greenhouse educational platform development.

Another recent farm-management investment was hiring Patricia Tripp in April as the SCSD6 Director of Food Safety and Sustainability.

Food Safety First
Food quality and food safety are integrated cohesively within best agricultural practices.

As a highly respected food-safety and best agricultural-practices industry expert, Patricia brings nine years of farm food-safety experience to her new responsibilities at SCSD6. Patricia is the steward for creating and sustaining a food-safety culture at the farm and throughout the district.

Vegetable wash line in the
packing house

Beyond establishing formal agricultural food-safety practices, Patricia is charged with obtaining the SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor's organic certification. Additionally, Patricia oversees the transformation of the recently closed nearby Old Fairforest Middle School cafeteria kitchen into a food-processing center.

Scheduled to open in August, the processing center will initially use the farm's roma tomatoes to make tomato sauce as well as freezing freshly harvested produce. The intention is to expand to ten value-added products this fiscal year. Patricia will establish the food-safety standards and policies for the processing center.

With the SCSD6 healthy-food commitment staged to excel into the next implementation stage, it is an incredibly busy time at the SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor and the district as a whole.

Awards, Honors and Grants. 
At the 2018 ForeverGreen Awards Luncheon, the Spartanburg School District 6: Farm 2 School Initiative was honored with the Tommy Wyche Land Conservation Champion Award. The award video emphasized how the Farm 2 School Initiative success is the result of a strong collaboration between the Moore Family descendants, mainly Tom Moore Craig, Upstate Forever, SC Conservation Bank, and the Spartanburg County Foundation.

Tomato seedlings ready for
planting in the field

In the 2019 SC Best School District Rankings, SCSD6 is ranked #3 with an overall "A" ranking, the same as the #1 and #2 districts. In specific categories, SCSD6 received an A+ in Clubs | Activities and Diversity.

Grant funding is often key to implementing aggressive programs such as the SCSD6 Farm 2 School Initiative. In a collaborative spirit, SCSD6 received numerous impressive national, state and local grants to augment and support the Farm 2 School Initiative, whether directly for the farm, creating school gardens or related to agriculture and nutrition education. As stated on the Farm 2 School website page:

The district was awarded the SC Department of Agriculture Grant to support school gardens, to source food locally, and to incorporate agriculture and nutrition education into school curriculums. In addition, the district received a USDA Farm to School Grant and the Healthy School Initiative Grant, a partnership with the Mary Black Foundation. To further encourage agriculture and nutrition education, the district was awarded an AmeriCorps Grant to create a new program, FarmCorps.

The Ei FB album, Spartanburg County School District Six, is a pictorial recap of the SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor tour.

To achieve a culture of excellence, consistent strong leadership must continually develop and demand the highest standards, attract individuals with similar moral values and work ethics, invest in the staff, equipment and facilities necessary for desired achievements, and showcase success as the culmination of collaborative effort within the organization and the community as a whole.

With Dr. Darryl Owings at the helm, the Spartanburg County School District Six encases the ingredients for a culture of excellence throughout the district. The School 2 Farm Initiative moving from the development to the operational phase exemplifies the district's culture of EXCELLENCE.

Greenville, #yeahthatgreenville, is a southern treasure

Over the past decade plus Greenville, SC, #yeahthatgreenville, experienced a tremendous resurgence as a coveted business and personal destination. National and global media took notice and consistently give Greenville prominent accolades related to quality and value-oriented travel, the excellent food scene, a sports and nature destination as well the city's livability.

Below and throughout the article are impressive accolades listed on the Visit Greenville, SC site.

Best Small Cities in the U.S. 2018 (Greenville, SC is #9)

Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards

9 Affordable U.S. Destinations for 2019

AARP

#3 Top New Foodie Cities in America

People

2018 Reader's Choice Awards - Favorite Destinations for Community Engagement

Sports Destination Management

49 of the Best Hiking Trails in the U.S. to Try Out This Fall

Business Insider

#22 Best Place to Live in the USA 2019

U.S News & World Report

BMW Manufacturing Plant 

BMW Plant
image courtesy of BMW

Until BMW opened their nearby manufacturing plant in 1994, Greenville and the entire Upstate SC remained economically traumatized by the textile industry demise in the 1970's. The BMW plant opening served as the catalyst for Greenville's economic revival and resurgence as a nationally and globally recognized great place to work, live and play.

Twenty-five years later, the BMW plant continues as a powerful regional-economic driver. Pursuant to the BMW Plant Spartanburg Stats and Information page:

BMW Manufacturing employs more than 11,000 people to produce the X3, X5 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicle and the X4 and X6 Sports Activity Coupe. The 1,150-acre, 7-million-square-foot campus generates its own power, offers an on-site Family Health Center and provides 24-hour security and firefighting personnel. To date, BMW has invested over $10 billion in its South Carolina operations.

Beyond the direct impact, BMW spurred business development in auxiliary companies and seemingly unrelated organizations. With a strong economic foundation Greenville is simply a good place for businesses to flourish.

#21 Best Small City to Start a Small Business

Verizon.com

Greenville Amenities

Reedy River Falls
view from Liberty Bridge

Greenville is blessed with an array of natural and man-made amenities. Within downtown Greenville's Historic West End, the city-owned Falls at Reedy Park is an urban paradise enjoyed by residents as well as visitors. Completed in 2002, The Liberty Bridge overlooks the impressive Reedy River falls.

Funded by Greenville's hospitality tax, the $4.5 million Liberty Bridge honors Liberty Corporation founder W. Frank Hipp and his children for their commitment and contribution to the Greenville community. While bridges with similar structural concepts have been built in Europe, the Liberty Bridge is unique in its geometry and there is nothing like it in the United States.

The Swamp Rabbit Trail is 22-mile path designed for cycling and walking that connects Travelers Rest to Greenville. Traversing along an old railroad corridor and the Reedy River, the trail crosses through the Falls park.

Liberty Bridge

Located within Greenville County, Caesars Head State Park and the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains are excellent cycling, both bicycle and motorcycle, venues. Professional cyclist (bicycle) George Hincapie, a longtime teammate of Lance Armstrong, trained in the the Greenville area for the Tour de France and other global races.

When he retired George chose Greenville for his permanent home. Along with his brother, George launched two local businesses: Hincapie Sportswear, a high-end sportswear shop carrying technical apparel, gear & casual wear for cyclists & triathletes, and Hotel Domestique, part countryside auberge, part modern boutique hotel and culinary destination.

2018 Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism: Innovations in Sports Tourism

Sports Destination Management

An acclaimed food, music and arts festival, Euphoria was founded in 2006 with a four-prong mission:

• To promote tourism in Greenville, SC
• To create a destination event for food, wine, and music lovers across the country
• To highlight the  culinary and music arts community of Upstate South Carolina
• To raise money to give back to the community

Euphoria showcases Greenville at its best and attracts locals as well as travelers to enjoy the festivities. Attendees enjoy exclusive tasting events, intimate musical experiences, cooking demonstrations and wine seminars, as well as multi-course dinners and live music concerts.

The Top Food Festivals & Foodie Events for Fall (Euphoria & Fall For Greenville)

StyleBlueprint

Organic, local lettuces
destined for The Anchorage

Over the past decade, Greenville attracted talented chefs to the quaint city who opened a wide array of dining destinations. Passionate about food quality, the chefs are drivers in supporting local-organic agriculture and showcase the produce, dairy and protein on their menus. Additionally, many chefs embrace zero-waste practices and contract with Atlas Organics for commercial food-waste collection for compost.

Top 20 America's Favorite Cities for Food

Travel + Leisure

Furman University, a private liberal-arts school, calls Greenville home and Clemson University, the state's second largest university from a student-population perspective, is a mere thirty plus miles away.

Greener Greenville

In 2011, Greenville City Council established the Green Ribbon Advisory Committee to advise City Council and City staff on the development of programs and initiatives, including the development of a Sustainability and Climate Action Plan, to reduce the City's environmental impact and distinguish Greenville as a leader in sustainability efforts.

Downtown dual-stream
recycling bin

The Committee issued a comprehensive report, Greener Greenville: Goals, Strategies & Tasks in June 2018. The report focuses of four sustainability categories: Energy & Buildings, Mobility, Natural Systems, and Recycling & Waste Management.

Electrical vehicle-charging stations were installed in city-owned parking garages to encourage citizens to drive low-emission vehicles. There is no fee for the chargers other than the standard parking garage stipend.

Greenville uses dual-stream recycling for their downtown collection bins. ... and the recycling bins come complete with fine art compliments of the Metropolitan Arts Council and the City of Greenville.

Reedy Farms compost sign

Within the Recycling & Waste Management section, a priority is an assessment of the food-waste collection for compost options, commercial and residential. Tasks detailed include finding a site to pilot food-waste composting, increasing awareness on home composting, and setting-up a commercial food-waste composting pilot for downtown restaurants. 

Local urban farmers embrace the use of compost to build and restore their soils for growing healthy, organic produce.

Top 10 America's Greenest Cities (Greenville is #5)

Hertz.com

Urban Agriculture
In October 2018 Elemental Impact (Ei) along with Ei Strategic Ally Feed and Seed hosted the Ei Exploration of Fungi, Soil Health and World Hunger. During the final exploration session at the Clemson organic-student farm, Feed & Seed Chair Mary Hipp gave an overview of the amazing healthy food-school programs at the Greenville County Schools as well as up the road 20+ miles at the Spartanburg County Schools, District Six.

Inspired, Ei Founder Holly Elmore traveled to Greenville in May 2019 to meet the masterminds behind the healthy food-school programs and tour their respective operations. Mary was generous with her time, connections and spirit as she hosted Holly for two consecutive days of meetings and tours.

After the Greenville County School District meeting, tour, and lunch, Mary took Holly on tours of two prominent, impressive urban farms, Reedy River Farms and Horseshoe Farm.

Reedy River Farms

Reedy River Farms

In September 2015, George DuBose and Chris Miller started Reedy River Farms with the mission to provide the best vegetable produce to their community and the most talented chefs in Greenville.

Located on an acre plot less than a mile from downtown, Reedy River Farms makes efficient use of their land via a covered high tunnel along with open-air plots. Committed to organic practices, the farm is "cide-free" (pest, insect, herb, and fungi) and nurtures their soil with local Atlas Organics compost. With close proximity to downtown, Reedy River Farms minimizes transportation emissions.

Horseshoe Farm
Back in 2017, a prominent local chef asked Chris to help him start a chef's garden at his restaurant. Thus, Chris left Reedy River Farms and launched That Garden Guy (TGG) to educate in and facilitate the "grow-your-own" and "local-food" movement.

In his consulting practice, Chris partners with Feed & Seed to help farmers improve restaurant-specific varieties and practices to maximize those relationships.

Hand-harvested carrots at
Horseshoe Farm

Last year Greg McPhee, Chef Owner of The Anchorage, partnered with TGG on Horseshoe Farm, an urban farm that is chef-driven with what and when crops are planted. Beyond another source for organic, locally grown produce, their intent is to drive the next wave of chef | farmer relationships and expand the Upstate's regional food system.

“Mother nature is always difficult, but (with this) I’ll know exactly, in theory, what we have coming in, in what months and how we can plan the menu accordingly,” Greg said in the October 2018 Greenville News article, Anchorage chef and a farmer start a farm in a new approach to local food in Greenville.

Recently Chris was recognized as 2019 Urban Conservationist of the Year by the Greenville County Soil & Water Conservation District for his sustainable-agriculture work in urban areas.

The Holly Elmore Images FB album, Greenville, SC, is a pictorial recount of Holly's May Greenville visit with sections on the farm tours, school system meetings | tours as well as downtown | neighborhood scenes.

Greenville, #yeahthatgreenville, is a southern treasure and lives up to its tremendous accolades. 

Success is not static: evolution is required to create and sustain regeneration

With Elemental Impact's (Ei) ten-year history of living the original tagline, Sustainability in ACTION, and more recently the renewed tagline, Regeneration in ACTION, substantial relationships evolved into valuable industry assets. With intentions to broaden environmental, humanitarian, and societal impact, Ei often facilitates powerful introductions within its extensive network. The Ei Connects page documents prominent introductions.

On June 17, Ei orchestrated introductions for long-time comrade in sustainability Georgia Institute of Technology (Ga Tech) to Kennesaw State University (KSU) Hickory Grove Farm (HGF) and KSU Dining Services. Ga Tech Director of Waste & Recycling Cindy Jackson was joined by Sustainability Coordinator Sarah Neville and Senior Sustainability Manager Malte Weiland. KSU Sustainability Manager Jennifer Wilson joined the tour and meeting; KSU Dining Service Culinary Director Brian Jones hosted the introductory meeting at The Commons campus-dining hall.

As Ei segued from the Era of Recycling Refinement into the Era of Regeneration, a close relationship developed with HGF via the first farm tour in June 2017 for Georgia World Congress Center Authority (GWCCA) and EPA, Region 4 associates.

Based on the inaugural tour, Ei Founder Holly Elmore wrote the Fall 2017 Southern Farm & Garden seven-page, multiple-article feature, An Icon in Sustainability and Hickory Grove Farm: Regenerative Agriculture Revives Soils & Local Ecosystems. The article gives an overview of KSU's stellar sustainability commitment at the Michael A. Leven School of Culinary Sustainability & Hospitality, The Commons (KSU’s Gold LEED-certified dining hall), and HGF. Holly's photography enhanced the article.

Ga Tech | Ei
The powerful Ga Tech | Ei relationship dates back to the Zero Waste Zones 2009 launch. Over the years, Cindy attended the Annual Ei Partner Meetings and joined the 2014 Atlanta Ei Partner Tours.

In industry circles, Holly refers to Cindy as the AMAZING Cindy Jackson!

The Lorax recycling center

There are many layers to the AMAZING aspect of Cindy Jackson, each indicative of Ga Tech's profound sustainability commitment and award-winning accomplishments. Thus, in essence, the reference is to the AMAZING Ga Tech facilities department management.

As a recycling-industry pioneer, Ga Tech received early national awards: American Forest & Paper Association 2008 University Recycling Award and the National Recycling Coalition 2008 Best Overall Recycling, Outstanding College or University Program Award.

Most importantly from a recycling perspective, the Ga Tech Solid Waste & Recycling Department never succumbed to single-stream recycling. Though it increases "diversion rates," single-stream recycling decreases actual recycling due to contaminated material streams. Diversion rates most often refer to the first stop after collection versus the material's final destination.

Supported by in-depth research, industry reports state single-stream recycling generally results in 25%+ of collected material destined for the landfill | incinerator due to contamination.

Clean, student-separated
plastic-recycling stream

Under Cindy's oversight, Ga Tech boasts incredibly clean, source-separated streams; clean material equates to valuable material sold in local markets as manufacturing raw material. Ga Tech students take their recycling seriously and source-separate items in accordance with the clear bin signage.

On October 24, 2017 Ga Tech hosted the first annual Facilities Sustainability Forum to an enthusiastic audience from the university and beyond. At Cindy's invitation, Holly was the featured speaker. The ZWA Blog article, Collaboration + Culture = Sustainability Success, is a forum overview featuring Holly’s presentation as well as the Building Services, Solid Waste & Recycling, and Landscape Service department sessions.

Hickory Grove Farm - History 

In 2013 the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) leased the 26-acre tract of land to KSU for farm use. Formally, the site was the GDOT cement-mixing site for nearby I-75 construction. Though not toxic, the soil was severely compacted and devoid of necessary minerals to sustain a healthy soil ecosystem. In addition, stormwater flowed off the property, rather than hydrate the "dead soil."

The Hydroponics Lab

Due to the deteriorated state of the soil, one of the first structures built at HGF was the Hydroponics Lab. In addition to not requiring soil for healthy crops, hydroponic agriculture systems save tremendous water. According to a University of Arizona Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science 2011 article:

A hydroponic lettuce system could use only 10 percent of the water needed compared to field-grown lettuce. Arizona uses about 70 percent of its water for agriculture.Theoretically, about 90 percent of all that water could be saved if every farm converted to hydroponics.

As the Hydroponics Lab is an enclosed structure, plant pests (insects, disease or other) are non-existent. Thus, creative pest control free of toxic chemicals is not necessary.

With patience, tenacity and a strategic plan, KSU restored the land through regenerative-agriculture practices. Simple, effective stormwater-management techniques retain water on the property, including a vibrant natural retention pond. A pair of mallard ducks, frogs, a variety of native plants, and abundant insects thrive within the pond and its shoreline.

HGF retention pond

Soil restoration is a partnership with the land; continued nurturing through compost use, crop rotation and other regenerative applications are necessary to maintain and improve soil health. HGF Manager Michael Blackwell ultized his extensive regenerative-agriculture wisdom to restore the soils into rich, dynamic ecosystems where crops thrived. 

Within a mere four years HGF supplied The Commons with nearly 25 percent of its produce, approximately 20,000 pounds of produce annually, and often 100 percent of its eggs. The Commons campus-dining hall serves 6,000-plus students, faculty, and guests per day during the active school year.

Back in 2017, HGF served as as a laboratory for The Michael A. Leven School of Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality (CSH) with an active class schedule. To prepare the students with the necessary skills to evolve into valuable culinary and hospitality-industry employees, the CSH required 400 hours of work experience and 200 volunteer hours for program graduation. Thus, HGF was the recipient of a significant number of student-volunteer hours for farm work.

CSH student  on the farm

The main farm structures in 2017 included the Propagation Lab, the Hydroponics Lab, one open-air high tunnel, a large chicken coop, a  tool shed, and the administration trailer.

The Hydroponics Lab housed a state-of-the-art vertical hydroponic system that watered each plant individually. The periodic dry time emulated nature and prevented root rot often prevalent in hydroponic systems. Within the lab, the tomato, cucumber, and various peppers-crop yields were impressive. Planting was timed to generate crops within the KSU-class rhythm.

HGF's fifteen honey-bee hive apiary served as a hands-on laboratory for the CSH Organic Agriculture and Beginning Apiary course. In addition to honey bees, the farm installed native-bee hives in the maturing apple orchard. Though they do not produce honey, native bees are far superior pollinators to honey bees, which are an introduced species.

In early 2017, the Honeybee Conservancy granted funds to The Siegel Institute for Leadership, Ethics, and Character to support collaborative efforts with KSU for raising Georgia’s bee population. Designated for the construction of a new apiary, grant funds allowed HGF to add mason and leafcutter bees to their original bee population.

Germinated seeds in soil blocks
ready for planting

For plastic-free seed planting, Michael uses stamped soil blocks to germinate seeds for planting in the high-tunnel. As another plastic-free measure, Michael grows saplings for new orchards in repurposed #10 cans from KSU Dining Services.

In October 2017, KSU announced the CSH would be phased out by spring of 2021 and was no longer accepting new students. Thus, HGF lost their steady stream of student-volunteer hours and the budget for farm labor other than Michael. It was time to step back and evolve the farm's strategic-operations plan.

Hickory Grove Farm - Evolution

With limited farm labor, Michael immediately assessed how he could maintain crop production. As they require seven-days per week attendance, finding homes for the 100-farm chickens was one of the first action points. Michael confirmed the chickens literally went to homes and not for chicken-broth production. 

Hydroponic lettuce ready for harvest

A second top priority was replacing the the original vertical-hydroponics system with a table-top system to focus on lettuce and reduce required labor. With the Hydroponics Lab's new system, lettuce grows from seeds to ready-for-harvest in six weeks, broken down into three, two-week stages.

HGF can easily produce 400 pounds of lettuce per week, more than KSU Dining uses, even when at  full capacity feeding 6,000 students per day. Thus, Michael is experimenting with growing herbs and other produce in the hydroponics lab.

Built in the last year, a second high tunnel is in the midst of its first growing season. To prevent moths and other insects from laying eggs on the crops, the new high tunnel is completely enclosed. Additionally, pollinator insects are not present and the monecious squash crop must be hand pollinated.

Monoecious plants, such as corn, birches, and squashes, produce individual male and female flowers; pollen from the male stamen must touch the female stigma for fertilization to occur. Once fertilized, the female ovary swells as it grows into a fruit or vegetable. When insect pollination is not an option, hand-pollinating squash blossoms is a common gardening practice.

Hand pollinating squash flowers

HGF staff hand-pollinate squash blossoms each morning. According to Michael the hand-pollination process is simple and takes approximately 30 minutes. By the abundant yellow squash nearing harvest, the hand pollination is successful at the farm.

Over the dormant winter months, Michael built a produce washroom complete with a bubble washer and a walk-in cooler. With an "extension service for the small farmer" mentality, Michael built the room with grass-roots economics. 

The bubble washer is used to clean lettuce and other produce while an industrial spinner dries the lettuce prior to bagging for storage. Michael used a simple jacuzzi pump to craft the inexpensive bubble washer.

Hand-crafted walk-in cooler

Rather than purchase one for $12,000, Michael hand-built the walk-in cooler for $600. A CoolBot (walk-in cooler controller) was used to transform a standard-window air-conditioner unit into a refrigeration-cooling system.

It is incredibly impressive to witness Michael's ingenuity and commitment to supporting urban ag and small rural-farm systems.

Though HGF composted farm waste in the past, fall KSU campus leaves are now brought to the farm for composting versus their prior landfill destination. Michael completed the Master Composter Certification offered by the UGA Athens-Clarke County Extension Service. Per the county website:

Established in 2011 as a partnership between Athens-Clarke County Extension and the Athens-Clarke County Solid Waste Department, the Georgia Master Composter Program is an adult education course and Extension Volunteer program.  Master Composters complete a nine-week training course that covers all aspects of the composting process.  Classes are taught by UGA faculty, Athens-Clarke County and US Forest Service staff, and small and commercial business owners. Topics include the chemistry and microbiology of composting, types of and reasons for composting, composting techniques and teaching tools.  As Extension volunteers, Master Composters then use this information to share composting basics with their family, friends and the community.  

The KSU Sustainability Department is ready to explore the possibility of transporting KSU Dining Services food waste to HGF for compost.

HGF will continue to evolve as various KSU departments realize the value of a nearby organic farm. With plenty of available land, the farm is ripe for an array of research and other projects.

American Chestnut
The HGF land is bound on the south and north sides with old-growth forest. While exploring the north forest, Michael discovered two healthy shoots from former magnificent American chestnuts killed by the chestnut blight. It is estimated 3 - 4 billion American chestnuts were killed by the blight in the first half of the 20th century. Though healthy in appearance, the shoots remain vulnerable to the blight.

Michael gazes at one of the
American chestnut trees

Based on submitted leaves and twigs, the American Chestnut Foundation confirmed the saplings are pure American chestnuts. If the elder sapling is free of the blight parasite, Michael is hopeful HGF may submit healthy seeds for the national efforts to revive the magnificent native trees.

Before humans developed North America, the American chestnut was the predominant tree from the Eastern seaboard to the Mississippi River. Legend says a squirrel could run through American chestnut tree branches from the East Coast to the Mississippi without touching the ground. Though urban development diminished the prominent population, the chestnut blight removed the magnificent trees from North American landscapes.

The only two verified pure American chestnut trees outside of the mountain region are on HGF. With the high honor comes a responsibility for species stewardship. 

KSU Dining Services

In alignment with its sustainability commitment, KSU opened The Commons Gold-LEED Certified dining facility in 2010. The Commons was awarded #2 Best College Dining Hall in 2016 by www.BestColleges.com.

The Commons entrance

KSU Dining Services Culinary Director Brian Jones oversees the in-house campus-foodservice operations. Brian uses his extensive fine-dining expertise to serve superior cuisine to the students, faculty and guests who dine at KSU facilities. An industry powerhouse, Brian recently won the National Association of College and University Food Service Southern Regional Culinary Challenge, earning a berth in the organization’s national competition in July.

In addition to an impressive healthy-dining commitment, including ample vegetarian and vegan-culinary options, KSU Dining Services adheres to best sustainable-operating practices. In 2018, 292 tons of source-separated food waste was collected for compost. At The Commons, back-of-the-house employees separate the food waste and trash from the reusable plates, flatware and cups. The employee-driven system aids in collecting a clean post-consumer food-waste stream for compost collection.

Committed to food-waste reduction, KSU Dining Services is trayless and uses moderate-sized plates and cups. At most of the stations, food is portioned by staff rather than permitting diners to overflow plates with student-sized appetite portions.

Pickled carrots

Prior to the one-month summer closing, Brian and his team scoured the kitchen for remaining perishable food and preserved the food in a variety of methods. Thus, pickled carrots provide lovely decor at the dining-hall stations.

Excess food is donated to Campus Awareness, Resource & Empowerment (CARE) Services. Founded in May 2013, CARE is a single point-of-access to services and resources, both on and off campus, for KSU students with issues surrounding homelessness, food insecurity, and foster care.

According to an April 2019 CityLab.com article Bills in California and Washington Address Homeless College Students:

Of university students, 36 percent said they had experienced some form of housing insecurity and 9 percent reported being homeless in the past year. Among community college students, 46 percent reported housing insecurity and 12 percent reported homelessness

With an innate community spirit, KSU Dining Services staff pre-packages excess food in single-service containers to aid in effective distribution to individuals.

As previously stated, KSU Dining Services uses reusable plates, flatware and cups to minimize waste generated in the dining halls. Beyond "straws available upon request," straws are not available at KSU dining halls. For to-go orders, KSU Dining Services provides reusable containers within a system designed for container return.

Synergies Abound
On June 17 the Ga Tech team arrived at HGF in the morning for a detailed farm tour hosted by Michael and joined by Jennifer. The Ga Tech folks were beyond impressed with the land's transformation from a cement-mixing site to a dynamic farm as well as Michael's ingenuity and innate passion for living by example.

Ga Tech | KSU sustainability meeting

After the farm tour, the group convened at The Commons dining hall for a KSU | Ga Tech sustainability introductory meeting. Cindy gave a thorough overview of Ga Tech's impressive recycling practices along with challenges addressed. In the midst of a shift to Aramark as their contracted foodservice operator, Sarah recapped the current Ga Tech-dining scenario.

Brian followed with the history of KSU Dining along with details of his extraordinary culinary operations. Wrapping up the meeting, Jennifer gave an overview of KSU's sustainability commitment. As Brian said farewell, the group enjoyed an amazing lunch.

Synergies abounded during the tour and meeting between Ga Tech and KSU. While Ga Tech excels in its waste & recycling program as well as grounds-maintenance practices, KSU is an industry hero in sustainable dining. An open-ended action point was scheduling a KSU visit to Ga Tech's campus. By working together the two state-owned universities may propel their respective operations into new sustainability realms.

An Ei FB album, Ei Connects, section is a pictorial recap of the meeting and tour from an Ei-Connects perspective; a Holly Elmore Images FB album, KSU Hickory Grove Farm, section includes images from Holly's pre-tour photo shoot as well as tour images.

Beyond Sustainability
Over the past decade, significant strides were made in zero-waste practices, renewable-energy technology, and reduced carbon | water footprints. Yet the glaciers continue to melt, the ocean acidification levels are increasing, and desertification is escalating.

Is sustainability / resilience enough to stave off the building crisis of the diminishing food and oxygen supply?

The RiA Magazine article, Beyond Sustainability: Regenerative Solutions, establishes sustainability | resilience is not enough to prevent the building crisis. Yet solutions abound in regenerating our soils by overhauling common agriculture, landscape and land-use practices.

Hickory Grove Farm is a stellar example of "farming done right" and how regenerative agriculture is a solution that produces abundant, healthy food and draws down significant carbon from the atmosphere into the soils. It takes commitment and tenacity of spirit to create and maintain a regenerative farm. Farm Manager Michael Blackwell knows success is not static and evolution is required to create and sustain regeneration.

Ei was honored to facilitate the empowering introduction of Kennesaw State University and Georgia Institute of Technology sustainability associates. May the magic flow within the respective universities so their strong sustainability commitments evolve into regenerative commitments.