Sustainability
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Love, Wastewater Meet at Athens Water Reclamation Facility Tour
With Earth Day just around the corner on April 22, many communities are turning their focus to sustainability. In Athens-Clarke County, the public utilities department took advantage of a less conventional holiday to educate residents about water sanitation — Valentine’s Day. Sixteen guests arrived at the Middle Oconee Water Reclamation…
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How Indigenous Culture is Preserved Through Native Plants, Language in UGA’s Ethnobotanical Garden
On the corner between South Jackson Street and Baldwin Street sits the Ethnobotanical garden at the University of Georgia. The garden features a variety of edible plants, such as yerba mate, strawberries and blueberries and is in the process of growing bananas, squash, corn and beans. “Almost every plant here…
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Kitchen Gardens: The Fight Against Plant Blindness
Plant blindness is a term that many of us are not aware of, but experience every day. Plant blindness is the lack of awareness of the plants in our environment. This affects aspects of our daily lives, especially when it comes to where our food comes from, who makes our…
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UGA Study: Can Essential Oils Keep Produce Fresh?
Inside the food science building at the University of Georgia, students are working alongside researchers to determine whether there is an organic alternative to traditional methods of shelf life extension. Researchers in UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Laurel Dunn and Faith Critzer, are studying the use of essential…
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Williams Farm: Teaching the Next Generation of Farmers
Nin Youngblood tightens a leak coming from the fish fertilizer on a warm Friday afternoon. Despite this being Youngblood’s second week in the Williams Farm Incubator Program, she has already gained invaluable experience on how to operate a farm. The Incubator Program is an apprenticeship that guides historically marginalized people…
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Q&As Reveal Community’s Sense of Hope, Worries for 2025 and Beyond
Reporting I students set out to learn more about Athens-Clarke County and their beats — business and consumer news, city-county government, diversity, local music, sustainability — by conducting research and interviews with business owners, community officials, advocates, musicians and students. The nearly 180 students in the course, which consists of…
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Athens Land Trust: Creating Community, Battling Food Insecurity
Food insecurity, the lack of reliable access to affordable, nutritious food, is a pressing issue in Georgia and Athens-Clarke County is no exception to the growing challenge. According to Feeding America, the food insecurity rate in Athens in 2022 was 16.8%, which is higher than the national average. Many local…
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Rock Lobsters Host Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful for Chuck-A-Puck Fundraiser
In their inaugural season, Athens’ new minor league professional hockey team, the Rock Lobsters, is already finding ways to give back to the community.One way the Rock Lobsters are making an impact is with their Chuck-A-Puck fundraisers. During a game on Jan. 31, in which the Rock Lobsters defeated the…
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Community Store: Reducing Textile Waste with Fashionable Pieces
Clothing and textile waste are one of the most significant sources of pollution worldwide, nationally and in Northeast Georgia. While it might be hard to imagine, there is an estimated total of 92 million tonnes of textile waste generated globally each year. In Georgia alone, textiles make up the seventh-largest…
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Georgia’s Trout Face Growing Threats from Climate Change, Habitat Loss
When the clear feeder creek behind John Lee Thomson’s home and the fish hatchery he works at turned muddy after a quick rain, he knew there was a problem. Thomson started to hike upstream to find a clear-cut lot missing all of its trees. Red mud spilled into the once-clear…