UGA College of Public Health and AU/UGA Medical Partnership Celebrate Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony of Nourish Teaching  Garden

Demonstrating collaboration and community commitment, the University of Georgia College of Public Health’s Cognitive Aging Research and Education (CARE) Center and the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership have officially unveiled the Nourish Teaching  Garden, a purpose-driven garden space on the back patio of Hudson Hall on UGA’s Health Sciences Campus.

Made possible through a $5,000 UGA Sustainability Grant and generous donations from local partners, the previously underutilized concrete patio has been transformed into a lush garden filled with seasonal herbs and plants, including lemon mint, basil and more. The Nourish Garden aims to serve as a living, growing source of wellness, nutrition and community engagement.

“Our school really emphasizes wellness and nutrition and community, and what better way to combine all three of those than having a community garden,” said third-year medical student Rachel Byun. “We want to keep growing. We want to continue being the research opportunity hub for our students and our faculty.”

Hudson Hall on the Health Sciences Campus is the home of The Cognitive Aging Research and Education (CARE) Center. With an emphasis on providing resources and hosting events for patients with dementia and their caregivers alike, the garden’s location on the back patio of Hudson Hall and collaboration with College of Public Health serve as inimitable resources.

“At its heart, public health is about prevention and partnership,” said Marsha Davis, Dean of the UGA College of Public Health. “The Nourish Garden beautifully embodies those principles—where students of medicine and public health come together to promote wellness, prevent disease, and strengthen the bonds between healthcare and community.”

The initiative began as an idea among medical students who saw firsthand the unmet needs of their own patients and other community members, and the potential for healing through shared green spaces. Under the mentorship of Kearney Gunsalus, PhD, and in collaboration with College of Public Health faculty members Jenay M. Beer, PhD and Lisa M. Renzi-Hammond, PhD, the students conducted interviews with Athens community garden leaders to learn about best practices.The team also performed needs assessments, in collaboration with the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, to determine what to grow and how to meet local needs.These insights laid the groundwork for what would become the Nourish Garden.

“This collaboration exemplifies the power of interdisciplinary innovation at UGA. By bringing together the College of Public Health, the Medical Partnership, the School of Medicine, and the State Botanical Garden, these students didn’t just identify a problem—they mobilized a campus-wide effort to solve it,” Associate Director at the Institute of Gerontology and College of Public Health associate professor Jenay Beer said.

The garden’s purpose extends beyond aesthetics. It is a functional space for interdisciplinary education and wellness for dementia patients and beyond. Medical students will use the garden to learn how to talk about nutrition with patients, explore therapeutic horticulture and participate in wellness and interprofessional education (IPE) events.

“I think that the power of knowing what persons with dementia need, what older adults need, and the will to make a change is what built this garden,” said CARE Center Community Coordinator and Department of Horticulture PhD student Lydia Burton. “I’m excited to see people change and reflect and grow alongside our garden. Honestly, the sky is the limit.” 

The creation of the garden was a collective effort, impossible without support from the College of Public Health, Athens Free Clinic, the Office of Sustainability, the Extension Office, the Grounds Department, Athens Landfill, and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. 

“This arose out of our students’ lived experiences in their own lives, in medical school and in their care for patients. They recognized unmet needs and imagined something better, and they built it,” said Dr. Shelley Nuss, dean of the Medical Partnership and founding dean of the School of Medicine. “The Nourish Garden is rooted in collaboration, flourishing through shared vision and cultivating connections between the Medical Partnership, the School of Medicine, the wider University and the communities we serve.”

The garden officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, October 2, and will continue to evolve seasonally, offering students and the community a place to learn, connect and grow.

For more information, visit: https://medicalpartnership.usg.edu/the-nourish-garden/