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July 2013

Page 1 KU Center for Sustainability

In the fall of 2011, conditions were ripe for establishing a community gardening and urban agriculture

program in the city of Lawrence: The Douglas County Food Policy Council had just completed their food

system report which showed that 10,000 Lawrence residents lack access to healthy foods. Bob Schumm, an

avid gardener had just been appointed Mayor. And there was a community-wide interest in increasing access

to healthier, locally-grown foods.

The Common Ground Program was

born. The Common Ground

Program is a community gardening

and urban agriculture program

created by the city to transform

vacant or under-utilized city

properties into vibrant sites of

healthy food production for our

citizens. The City surveyed its

properties, picked the ones

appropriate for food production,

and then made them available for

license to city residents. Through an

annual application process,

residents can propose their ideas for creating a community garden, orchard, or farm on the site.

In addition to increasing the availability of fresh, healthy produce in our city’s neighborhoods, these gardens

have impacts far beyond their boundaries. In exchange for receiving a free license for use of city property,

each grower/applicant creates a Community Benefit Plan for their project. These have resulted in 550 lbs of

produce donated to local food pantries, field trips for student groups, and community gardening class topics

from compost to tree pruning.

Gardeners & City of Lawrence find “Common Ground”

By Eileen Horn, Sustainability Coordinator, Douglas County & City of Lawrence

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Page 2 KU Center for Sustainability

July 2013

Currently we have

seven Common

Ground sites in the

program, each one

unique in its focus

and audience they

serve:

Garden

Incubator at John

Taylor Park (7th

and Walnut) – a

community garden

that focuses on

engaging residents

and children in

food production.

PermaCommons (1304 Pennsylvania) – a garden that utilizes the principles of permaculture to grow food

in a cooperatively-managed setting.

Penn St. Community Garden (1313 Pennsylvania St.) – a community garden with individual plots for

rent.

The Lawrence Community Orchard (830 Garfield St.) – an open-for-picking community orchard that

features an educational kiosk and signage to educate residents about Kansas-appropriate fruit trees.

JCCC Student Farm (815 Oak) – a farm for students in the Johnson County Community College

Sustainable Agriculture certificate program to hone their growing skills.

New in 2013! Pearl Clark Community Garden (639 Illinois St.) – a community garden with individual

plots for rent.

New in 2013! Incubator Farm at 24/40 – a farm leased by three small market growers, with space to

develop their small vegetable production businesses.

To learn more about the Common Ground program, or to apply for your site, visit:

www.lawrenceks.org/common_ground

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Page 3 KU Center for Sustainability

July 2013

Center for Sustainability hires Surplus Operations Coordinator

The Center for Sustainability recently promoted Sam Pepple to

the position of Surplus Operations Coordinator. Pepple has

worked for the University of Kansas Surplus Program as a

General Maintenance Repair Technician (GMRT) since 2007. As

a GMRT, Pepple has coordinated surplus purchasing and

disposal for campus departments, facilitated surplus donations

to area non-profit agencies, and organized food, clothing, and

item pick ups for student move out. To date, Pepple has

assisted in placing 7000 items back onto campus or to area non-

profits, diverting over 350,000 lbs and 3000 cubic yards of

products from the landfill. In his new position, he will work to

expand KU Surplus, making it an even more comprehensive

campus program.

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Page 4 KU Center for Sustainability

For more information about sustainability at KU, visit www.sustainability.ku.edu like us on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/KUSustainability, or follow us on

Twitter @SustainKU.

Join Us Contribute

Is your department or organization contributing to a more sustainable KU? We’d love to hear about it and

include your efforts in our next issue of the Spotlight!

Send submissions to sustainability@ku.edu.

July 2013

The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry,

disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression and genetic

information in the University’s programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the

non-discrimination policies: Executive Director of the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access, IOA@ku.edu, 1246 West

Campus Road, Room 153A, Lawrence, KS 66045, (785) 864-6414, 711 TTY.

Live Sustainably

Upcoming Campus and Community Events

7/20

Lawrence Community Bike Ride

8:00 AM (time of certain activities varies)

The Rotary Arboretum by the YSC Soccer fields

ridelawrence.com/events/2013-community-bike-ride/

7/27

Running for Food, Running for Health 5k

7:00 AM

West Middle School

https://www.themerc.coop/cmef-run.cfm

8/24

Gardening 102 Class

9:00 AM—12:00 PM

Douglas County Fair Grounds

8/25

Volunteers Needed: Recycling at KU Soccer

1:00 PM

Jayhawk Soccer Complex

Contact sustainability@ku.edu to help.

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Page 5 KU Center for Sustainability

July 2013

Includes: Does Not Include:

White Paper Newsprint

Pastel Colored Paper Cardboard or Chipboard

Brochures Paper or Styrofoam Cups

Stapled Books Napkins of Tissues

Envelopes Food Contaminated Paper

Manila File Folders Magazines or Glossy Paper

Junk Mail Books with Glued Binding

Greeting Cards Paper Bags

Heavy Weight Paper

Includes: Does Not Include:

All Newsprint Magazines or Glossy Paper

Phone Books or Catalogs

Includes: Does Not Include:

Corrugated Cardboard Boxes Soiled Pizza Boxes

Corrugated Packaging Waxy Cardboard

Any boxes that have food

contamination

Includes: Does Not Include:

Other Paperboard Packaging Corrugated Cardboard

Includes: Does Not Include:

Magazines Junk Mail

Glossy Paper Phone Directories

Includes: Does Not Include:

Steel (tin) cans ONLY Aluminum Cans

Bottles of any kind

Sheet or Scrap Metal

Any #1-#7 plastic (salad bar take-out, plastic packaging etc)

TELEPHONE DIRECTORIES &

CATALOGS

Includes campus and municipal phone

books and catalogs with similar con-

struction (heavy-weight cover with

newspaper-like pages)

Mixed Paper

Grades of paper not listed above, including

journals, hard-back books and glue-bound

books should be recycled separately from

other materials.

Shredded Paper

Bags of shredded paper should be tied shut to

close bag completely. Do not put shredded

overheads or any other type of plastics in with

the shredded office pak. DO NOT put shred-

ded paper in, or stack on top of or next to the

regular recycling bins. Instead, contact KU

Recycling for a special collection.

OFFICE PAK

NEWSPAPER

CORRUGATED CARDBOARD

CHIPBOARD

MAGAZINES

#1— #7 PLASTICS

STEEL CANS

ALUMINUM CANS

Includes: Does Not Include:

Aluminum cans ONLY Foil Food Wrappers

Steel or Tin Cans

KU Recycling collects the following materials at most locations.