Experiential Learning Lab

Compost Cooperative and Gardens

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Sign Up for a Composting Orientation (5:00pm most Fridays)

Shop the Compost Cooperative and Gardens store for apparel and items with the Compost Cooperative and Gardens logo: color | black and white

Are you interested in organic gardening and composting at UF? Come out to the Compost Cooperative and Gardens (CCG), where you can adopt a garden plot, turn your food scraps into fertilizer, and attend fun socials!

The Compost Cooperative and Gardens (CCG) is a cross-disciplinary outreach program dedicated to promoting sustainability at the campus and community level.

Organized by the BioEnergy and Sustainable Technology (BEST) Laboratory, the CCG was started to educate UF students about the importance of food waste composting and provide an opportunity to compost their own food waste. The CCG encourages and trains students, faculty, and staff at the University of Florida and the Gainesville community to compost their food waste and to appreciate the value of recycling by turning this waste into natural fertilizers.

The CCG maintains several composters to allow students and others in the UF community to compost their food waste. CCG closes the compost loop by maintaining a student-run organic garden in which students grow their own organic food using the compost they helped to create. Large barrels that collect rainwater allow students to easily irrigate their garden plots with a more sustainable source of water.

Encouraging students to use these eco-friendly practices builds awareness and environmental responsibility that contribute to their personal and communal growth, while the gardens serve as a place for students to relax, study and enjoy the outdoors. The CCG hosts open houses and field days and participates in a variety of other educational events to help build awareness and educate others about the benefits of composting.

Compost Cooperative and Gardens Sign

Compost Cooperative marks 15-years of sustainability, education, and community engagement

How It Works

The CCG has an open door policy. Food waste can be brought to the composters at any time. When you place your food waste in the composter, please turn the compost to mix the fresh food waste into the compost. Turning facilitates the biodegradation and prevents odors. If you do not have a container to transport your food waste to the composters, we can provide you with one. For composting information, reach out to the Compost Manager (see Volunteer Support Team information below).

The gardens at the UF CCG are a learning space where co-op members can test out organic gardening and put the compost, they make to use growing food and flowers. Space is available to active co-op members on a first-come-first-served basis. All co-op members are expected to help keep the grounds looking presentable, but gardeners are also expected to help the garden manager at least twice a month to maintain the garden area through activities such as weeding, caring for potted plants, spreading pine mulch, etc.

Any active members who are interested should reach out to the Garden Manager (see Volunteer Support Team information below). For those who have not yet become co-op members, please sign up for and attend an orientation to get started.

CCG Orientations

Sign up for an orientation to the Compost Cooperative and Gardens

Orientations are most Fridays at 5:00pm when classes are in session. Submit the Composting Orientation Registration Form to sign up.

Location

The Cooperative Compost and Gardens is located in the UF Energy Research and Education Park, 2610 SW 23rd Terrace. See map below.

We have parking spots and a bike rack available.

Bus routes 9, 35 and 37 stop at the front of the Park. Link to Bus Route Map

The Energy Park will be on the right side of the road immediately after University Commons Apartments. Once you turn into the park, take the right fork and continue to the first parking area on the left. See map below.

Research on Our Compost

Compost Composition and Application Rate Have a Greater Impact on Spinach Yield and Soil Fertility Benefits Than Feedstock Origin

Food-Based Composts Provide More Soil Fertility Benefits Than Cow Manure-Based Composts in Sandy Soils

Founder and Director

Dr. Ann C. Wilkie began the Compost Cooperative and Gardens as a place for students to compost their food waste and learn about sustainable practices. She continues to host and direct the CCG at her lab, the BioEnergy and Sustainable Technology Laboratory.

For research and outreach questions, contact her at acwilkie@ufl.edu.

Volunteer Support Team

To get started with the CCG please contact the volunteers below according to your area of interest.

Composting

McKenna Kupcha

Compost Manager

Please reach out to me with any questions about composting.

I am a third-year Biology-Biotechnology student with CALS minoring in Organic and Sustainable Crop Production and International Studies in the Agricultural and Life Sciences. I am passionate about reducing waste from production to consumption and crafting a circular agricultural system.

Age: 20

Hometown: Ponte Vedra, FL

Phone Number: 904-466-7164

Email: mkupcha@ufl.edu

Gardening and Garden Plots:

Arika Carey
Garden Manager

Please reach out to me with any questions about the garden or getting a plot.

I am a first-year PhD student studying Plant Pathology. I am passionate about local food systems, food writing, growing fruits, herbs and vegetables, and cooking.

Graduate student, Department of Plant Pathology
Age: 26
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
Phone Number: 702-533-7814
Email: arikacarey@ufl.edu

Rosemary (Rosie) Murray
Pollinator Garden Manager

Please reach out to me with any questions about the pollinator garden or pollinator gardening.

I am a second-year MS student studying pollinator ecology of Etoniah Rosemary (Conradina etonia), an endangered species of scrub mint. I am passionate about encouraging the use of native plants in all forms of landscaping and protecting natural Florida plant communities.

Graduate Student, Department of Entomology & Nematology
Age: 30
Hometown: Loxahatchee, FL
Phone Number: 561-729-9053
Email: rose0420@ufl.edu

Outreach

Katya Kasprzak
Outreach Manager

Please reach out to me with any questions about the Compost Cooperative and how to get involved.

I am a University of Florida alum (’25) working as an environmental scientist at a global engineering firm, and am the outreach manager for the Compost Cooperative and Gardens (CCG). Contact me with any questions about our operations, educational practices, composting, or outreach opportunities.

UF Alum, ’25: Environmental Management in Agriculture and Natural Resources, B.S.
Age: 23
Hometown: Sandwich, MA
Phone Number: 781-999-4758
Email: katyakasprzak@ufl.edu

See past student support team members.

Resources

Composting Basics Infographic (PDF)

What is Vermicomposting Infographic (PDF)

Program for composting of student food waste [Poster] Presented at the 2009 UF Undergraduate Research Symposium

Student Compost Cooperative [Flyer]

Composting basics and troubleshooting [Presentation]

SWES CCG logo:

SWES CCG logo: