Using a mix of paper surveys, digital mapping, and even a hand-crafted “junk journal,” students in the FindIt Historic Resource Survey documented nearly 3,000 historic properties in Meriwether County, capturing pieces of Georgia’s history in creative and meaningful ways.
Archive for the ‘Outreach’ Category
CED students design healing gardens for The Ark Family Preservation Center
The College of Environment and Design (CED) partnered with The Ark Family Preservation Center to create a series of gardens that promote healing for families broken by destructive forces such as drugs and alcohol. The Clinkenbeard Healing Gardens, named after the grandmother of the center’s founder, Dr. Oxley, are envisioned to be a space where parents and children can reconnect with each other through play and nature.
Project Profile: Flood Resilience for the City of Tybee Island
CED Professor and River Basin Center affiliate Alfie Vick discusses flood management and resilient natural infrastructure in the new RBC project-profile, “Flood Resilience for the City of Tybee Island: The Tybee Island Back River Study”
CED Alum Leigh Elkins awarded Walter Barnard Hill Award
Congratulations to CED Alumna Leigh Askew Elkins for receiving the prestigious UGA Walter Barnard Hill Award for her achievements in public service and outreach
Eric Reisman joins CCDP as FindIt Program Coordinator
Eric Reisman (MHP ’09) has been hired as the newest Coordinator for the FindIt Historic Resource Survey Program. He has over ten years of historic resource survey experience, most recently with the Mississippi State Historic Preservation Office as their survey manager. He begins his new role at CCDP on April 19th. Welcome, Eric!
Community Landscape Lab Studio Engages in Service-Learning
Katherine Melcher, an associate professor of landscape architecture in the College of Environment and Design, has created the Community Landscape Lab to engage students and community groups using landscape architecture as the means to acuate social change. Through the Community Landscape Lab, Professor Melcher partners students with clients in a Master’s level Landscape Architecture (MLA) studio to provide stakeholders with design concepts and engagement strategies useful to the community. Bringing more awareness to the lab’s work, students developed a blog to publish information about the projects they are working on, including background information, weekly updates on community feedback, and their design recommendations.
Improving Rural Health through Design
Researchers have identified significant linkages between public health and the design of the built environment, including impacts on physical activity, walkability, social and mental health. While most design research centers on the re-design of cities and other urban places, Georgia is predominately a rural state. With the 20th highest adult and the 18th highest child obesity rates in the nation, rural Georgia needs design interventions that are sustainable, community supported and cost-effective. While better health outcomes through design is frequently touted for urban areas, research neglects design and planning for rural communities.
Georgia DOT, UGA and The Ray Break Ground on Latest Meadow-Research Installation
Georgia Department of Transportation (Georgia DOT), The Ray and the University of Georgia’s College of Environment + Design (UGA CED) are pleased to announce Phase 2 of their meadow-research plantings on The Ray Highway, at the Exit 6 median alongside I-85’s northbound lanes. The purpose of the research is to establish innovative uses that beautify and improve the utilization of Georgia’s highway corridor.
FindIt creates StoryMaps as Outreach Tool
The Covid-19 Pandemic forced many institutions, organizations, and individuals to rethink “business as usual.” For the FindIt Program, the long-running historic resource survey program within the Center for Community Design & Preservation (CCDP), local shelter-in-place rules provided an opportunity for students to share the results of their architectural fieldwork more broadly.
FindIt Program Featured in UGAToday
FindIt Program Featured in UGAToday
Dr. Qiong Wang: Championing Community-Engaged Research and Resilience in Georgia
From the classroom to the coast, Dr. Wang is turning research into real change and leading the way in shaping a more resilient and sustainable Georgia.
McDuffie County Trails Charrette
McDuffie County, Ga. – The McDuffie County Archway Partnership enlisted design assistance from the College of Environment and Design (CED) in order to increase recreational opportunities around Clarks Hill Lake, one of the largest man-made lakes east of the Mississippi River. Led by the CED Center for Community Design and Preservation, graduate students from the college’s landscape architecture and urban planning programs have provided a master plan that includes concepts tailored to kayaking enthusiasts, hikers, campers, recreational cyclists, and equestrians.
Collaborative Design in Action: UGA and LSU Students Collaborate on Transformative Service-Learning Project in Savannah
Fall 2025 Update: CED Students Receive the 2025 ASLA Georgia Student Honor Award.
We are pleased to announce that Joanna Munei Waliuba and Nazrin Aliyeva have received the 2025 ASLA Georgia Student Honor Award for their continued work on the Savannah, Georgia site.
BLA Students Go Bananas Designing Foraging Garden For Chimpanzees in North Georgia
Last semester, students in Associate Professor Jose Buitrago’s second-year BLA studio brought their talents to Blue Ridge, GA, where they helped envision a new foraging and education garden for Project Chimps, a sanctuary for retired research chimpanzees.
Ecological Design Meets Infrastructure: A Biodiversity Action Plan for Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport
What if the world’s busiest airport was also a shining example of ecological harmony? At the College of Environment + Design, our senior landscape architecture studio took on this challenge through developing a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), a visionary project reimagining the 4,700-acre grounds of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Students get hands-on experience at historic Athens property
Historic Preservation students are exploring the history of the land to support ACC planning efforts.
BLA seniors design new futures for Brunswick sites
We’re looking back at our Spring ’25 landscape architecture senior capstone studio in Brunswick, Georgia! This spring, seniors in instructor Carley Rickles’ studio chose one of two 100-acre sites in Brunswick to redesign.
Summer Rewind: FindIt Students Explore Georgia’s Historic Resources
This summer, another class of Master of Historic Preservation students entered FindIt, a state-wide cultural resource survey program created to help document historic resources throughout Georgia and facilitate their preservation. […]
Planting Seeds: MLA Student Educates Future Landscape Architecture Students
MLA student Megan Janssen, BLA ‘24, wants to know how landscape architects find their way to the profession, starting with College of Environment and Design students. One of few to […]
Preserving place: UGA’s FindIt program brings new life to Monticello’s history
UGA’s FindIt program partnered with the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission to survey Monticello’s historic district, documenting 400 properties.
Student Works Shines at Fall Critique Week
At the end of each semester, the College of Environment and Design hosts Critique Week, a multi-day event showcasing student work from the semester. This fall, Critique Week was held on Dec. 4 and 5 and featured 28 guest […]
MLA Alum’s Thesis Aids in Designing Community for People on the Brink of Homelessness
The Homervillage master plan is a 65.2 acre development, consisting of 30 tiny home units with three different floor plan options. The goal for this master plan was to design a community for people experiencing chronic homelessness or close to becoming homeless by giving a helping hand. Early research and initial design concepts were developed by Anna Marie Scoccimaro’s master’s thesis. Ameliorating Homelessness Through the Built Environment explored the research behind communities that help people experiencing homelessness to thrive once again.
Community Planning Students Help Secure $4.9 Million Grant
CED associate professor Stephen Ramos and his community planning students have helped secure a $4.9 million federal grant for a series of community improvement projects in Baldwin County, Georgia.
CED Lecturer Uses Service-Learning Project to Revitalize Small Georgia Communities
Since 2019, Longenecker and his students have been heavily involved with Healthier Together Georgia, a program run by the UGA Extension to improve health and wellness in communities with limited access to healthy foods and active routes such as bike lanes or sidewalks.
Landscape Architecture Students Think Big in Griffin, GA
In the spring, landscape design students at the CED took the phrase, ‘dream big,’ to a whole new level! With the support of CED lecturer James Schulte and the UGA Archway Partnership, landscape design students used their imagination and critical thinking skills to brainstorm revitalization ideas for a large property in Griffin, Georgia.
From Classroom to Field: Students Create A Landscape Management Plan for Cedar Lane Farm
A team of six master’s students, led by Dr. Eric MacDonald, had the exciting opportunity this spring to work with the owners of Cedar Lane Farm, located in Morgan County, Georgia. Deeply connected to the state’s botanical heritage, this farmstead has a plethora of historical and cultivated plants, formal gardens, an intricate trail system, and unique natural features nestled within the landscape. The students worked diligently to create and tailor a comprehensive management report for Cedar Lane Farms, including management strategies for invasive plant species and programming trail systems highlighting the site’s natural character.
CED Students Work On Outdoor Pavilion Enhancement at Bert Adams Scout Camp
During the spring semester, Dr. Jessica Fernandez and her first-year Master of Landscape Architecture students in Studio II embarked on an exciting project: the Outdoor Pavilion Enhancement at Bert Adams Scout Camp.
International Double Dawg Sophia Zhang Finds Success in Service-Learning
When Guangzhao(Sophia) Zhang first arrived at the College of Environment and Design, the university lifestyle came as no surprise. As an international Double Dawg from Beijing Forestry University, Zhang was […]
CED Students Support Innovative Teaching With Local Development
Professor Donnie Longenecker’s Senior Capstone Studio assisted a team of educators and citizens working on a master plan for The Center for Innovative Teaching (CFIT), located 23 miles from UGA’s campus in Winder, Georgia. Our students were tasked with developing concepts for a portion of the campus. In the end, a final concept was assembled from favorable parts of each of the student designs. The project is now coming to fruition as they plan on breaking ground in early April 2023.
MHP Students Volunteer in Selma, Alabama During Spring Break 2023
During Spring Break, Professor Cari Goetcheus, along with Master of Historic Preservation students Kayla McElreath, Cameron Nesmith, Niamh West, Jeffrey Bussey and Inga Gudmundsson, headed to Selma, Alabama to assist with post-tornado historic resource assessments.
Douglas, GA Design Charrette
The CCDP took a team of 17 students down to Douglas, GA, for our spring design charrette. The Downtown Development Authority of Douglas requested our help in creating a cohesive vision that addressed revitalization potential, corridor enhancements, and infill housing along a 3-mile business district. In just 3 days, students representing all of CED’s disciplines toured the town for the first time, facilitated a community listening session, and developed short-term and long-range concepts around streetscape improvements, placemaking, greenway enhancement, celebrating Black culture, and infill housing in historic districts. The work they were able to produce in just three days is truly remarkable and the Douglas DDA was blown away by our innovative ideas — we hope to see some of them implemented in the future!
Explore Athens and Beyond with AthSketch
Every week, CED lecturer Cameron Berglund leads an enthusiastic group of urban sketchers across UGA’s campus and the state of Georgia. The AthSketch community is open to students and locals alike. The group meets every Wednesday to sketch a different spot around town and sharpen their individual spatial design skills. Read on to learn how you can get involved!
CED Hosts Local 10th-Graders As Part of Experience UGA
RSS Feed: This year’s Experience UGA program was a success thanks to the hard work of our student volunteers and thanks to our outreach unit, the Center for Community Design and Preservation!
CED Hosts Experience UGA Tenth Grade Field Trips
The Experience UGA program is a partnership between the Clarke County School District (CCSD) and the UGA Office of Service Learning which aims to bring every PreK-12 student to UGAʼs campus every year for a curricular-based field trip. This year, we welcomed students from Clarke Central High school on November 14th and from Cedar Shoals High School on November 16th. The Experience UGA trips achieved the goal of exposing high schoolers to college and the field of landscape architecture through a thoughtfully tailored experience.
Students Design Wellness Courtyard Adjacent to University Health Center
Donnie Longnecker’s second-year design students were tasked with envisioning an outdoor wellness courtyard adjacent to the UHC that focuses on fostering community and providing tranquility to the many visitors of south campus.
Small Town Preservation: Hoschton, GA Design Charrette
CED students from various programs worked together with community members and stakeholders in Hoschton, Georgia to develop concept plans addressing population growth and preserving Hoschton’s historic character.
From UGA Today: UGA Helping Rural Downtowns Experience A Renaissance
UGA CED students and alumni collaborate with the Carl Vincent Institute of Government to breath new life into Georgia’s small, rural cities.
BLA Site Designs + Athens Hospitality
CED BLA student site designs help pave the way for Classic Center design concepts, furthering program’s ties to the hospitality and tourism industry.
CED MLA Alumna Designs Park Inspired by Hart County History
UGAToday recently covered the Railroad Street Park project in Hart County which was designed by Elizabeth Crimmins (MLA ’22).
Kimley-Horn Charrette Design Competition
In January of this year, over 70 CED participated in a design charrette sponsored by Ian Firth (Professor Emeritus), Kimley-Horn, Belgard, Forms+Surfaces, and Select Trees.
A Park Reimagined: New Design for Bowman Park
Recently, final design plans were revealed by four University of Georgia students who were tasked to reimagine the Bowman Town Park. From community input meetings, surveys and other information-gathering sessions, master’s degree candidates Andrew Petersen, Kayla Joiner, Elizabeth Crimmins and Guangzhao (Sophia) Zhang, took what locals asked for and set out to put their landscape-designing knowledge to work for the rural community. Joining the students on the call were Katherine Melcher, their UGA Design Studio professor; Cara Specht, representing the S.C. Forestry Commission and the Tree City USA program; Toby Douthat with Sen. Lindsey Graham’s office and S.C. Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter of District 66.
UGA Interdisciplinary Research Team explores coastal housing challenges
UGA students are working with the University of Georgia Marine Institute on Sapelo Island to create new designs that could help coastal residents weather the next hurricane. The UGA interdisciplinary team includes colleagues from the College of Engineering, College of Environment and Design, the department of geography, the department of marine sciences, the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, the Office of Research, and the Office of the University Architect.
