FSU Wins Ford C3 Grant for Sustainable Nutrition Project

Thanks to collaboration by Fairmont State University, the City of Fairmont and community volunteers, the Fairmont Community Garden fuels neighborhood revitalization, hands-on learning for students, healthy nutrition and the campus student food bank. For these efforts in promoting a sustainable community, the project has been named as a national winner in the Ford College Community Challenge, the only winner in West Virginia.

“Bridging the Gap: Sustainable Nutrition through Community Revitalization,” a proposal submitted by Fairmont State, is one of 10 winning student sustainability projects at nine U.S. colleges and universities in the Ford College Community Challenge (Ford C3). Each of the winning projects has been awarded a $25,000 grant from Ford Motor Company to support their work. For the first time, six global winners also were named in Brazil and China.

“The grant from Ford is a wonderful resource. It allows us to work collaboratively to provide unique learning opportunities for our students,” said Dr. Amy Sidwell, Assistant Professor of Community Health Education in the FSU School of Education, Health and Human Performance. “Mark Miller and Kathy Wyrosdick from the City of Fairmont Planning Office have been instrumental in revitalizing the site of the Community Garden.”

The Fairmont Community Garden is located on Oliver Avenue in Fairmont on reclaimed tennis courts that had fallen out of use. Over the past year, Christa Blais, who owns the shop All Things Herbal in downtown Fairmont, has organized the garden space. Construction of the beds took place in the spring; throughout the summer volunteers worked to fill the beds with soil. Raised beds have been leased, and community members have been growing fruits, vegetables and flowers in the space. Blais has made three donations of fresh fruits and vegetables to The Nest Student Food Bank on campus from plants grown at the garden.

The Ford C3 grant focuses on three areas of impact: the construction of a bridge connecting the garden to Fifth Street Park, increasing the availability of fresh produce for the community and providing learning opportunities for FSU students.

“Our continued partnership with Fairmont State University students, faculty and administrators makes us all part of a stronger community. In addition to providing healthy fruits and vegetables, the Fairmont Community Garden project is tremendous for the revitalization of the Oliver Avenue neighborhood. The project also supports previous efforts made to improve Fifth Street Park by connecting the two areas,” said Kathy Wyrosdick, Fairmont City Planner.

Ford C3 recognizes colleges and universities for utilizing school resources and student participation to address an urgent community need under the theme: “Building Sustainable Communities.” Ford C3 winners are required to present proposals for sustainable projects with significant student input, involvement and leadership. Water conservation, renewable energy, urban gardening, recycling and transportation are among the proposals submitted by these creative teams of students.

Students in Sidwell’s fall semester “Health Promotion and Program Planning” class –Mary Kinkelaar of Bridgeport, Michael Fountain of Lewisburg, Brandi Adkins of Grafton, Hannah Wolfe of Fairmont – are planning community health education at Oliver Avenue Park.

“I think it’s a really good thing. We are trying to better the neighborhood and show people they can have fresh vegetables and be healthier and get people involved with planting,” Kinkelaar said.

Mark Wolf, Assistant Professor of Technology Education in the FSU College of Science and Technology, also assisted with the proposal and will have students involved in the project. This semester four of his students are working on design and planning: Shawn Davis of Fairmont, Lane Arbogast of Farmington, David Gluss of Elk Garden and Sergei Gentry of Woodstock, Va.

“We have a great group of engineering technology students meeting and developing a water collection system for the garden. Progress on building a bridge to Fifth Street Park will develop in the spring semester. I am looking forward to further growth of the relationship between the community and the University,” Wolf said.

The $280,000 in grants are part of $1 million in new scholarships, grants and career outreach programs that Ford’s philanthropic arm is launching in October to further its commitment to education.

“Educating the next generation of leaders is at the center of Ford Fund’s commitment to a better world,” said Jim Vella, President, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services in a news release from Ford. “Education, innovation and sustainable solutions is a powerful formula for success in our communities, and will help future engineers, managers and entrepreneurs build a solid foundation for the careers of tomorrow.”

Other 2014 Ford C3 national winners are Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Mich., which had two winning projects; Kettering University in Flint, Mich.; Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.; University of Detroit Mercy in Detroit, Mich.; University of Georgia in Athens, Ga.; University of Washington in Seattle, Wash.; Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va.; and Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Mass.

Campus Compact, a national higher education association dedicated to campus-based civic engagement, again partnered with Ford Fund in the U.S. to inform some 600 colleges and universities about this year’s grant program.

For additional information, visit https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2014/10/07/ford-fund-supports-sustainability--student-innovation.html.

For more information on the FSU project including a video, visit https://www.fordscholars.org/contests/ford-c3

About the photo:

Members of the Ford C3 grant team partnering FSU with the City of Fairmont and community volunteers were honored at the Oct. 16 meeting of the FSU Board of Governors. In the front row from left to right are Michael Fountain of Lewisburg, a Community Health Education major at FSU; Brandi Adkins of Grafton, a Community Health Education major at FSU; Hannah Wolfe of Fairmont, a Community Health Education major at FSU; Shawn Davis of Fairmont, a Mechanical Engineering Technology major at FSU; and Lane Arbogast of Farmington, a Mechanical Engineering Technology major at FSU. In the back row from left to right are Kathy Wyrosdick, City Planner, City of Fairmont; Dr. Amy Sidwell, Assistant Professor of Community Health, FSU School of Education, Health and Human Performance; Mary Kinkelaar of Bridgeport, a Community Health Education major at FSU; David Gluss of Elk Garden, a Mechanical Engineering Technology major at FSU; Sergei Gentry of Woodstock, Va., a Mechanical Engineering Technology major at FSU; and Mark Wolf, Assistant Professor of Technology Education, FSU College of Science and Technology.

College of Science and TechnologySchool of Education, Health and Human PerformanceFord C3 GrantAmy SidwellMark WolfCity of FairmontKathy WyrosdickFairmont Community Garden