Walker County’s Solid Waste and Public Works departments are helping provide a real-world lesson in sustainability to agriculture students across the county. Approximately 65 tons of excess mulch from the landfill’s mulch program have been delivered and distributed to area schools for use with their agriculture classes.

Students at Chattanooga Valley Middle, Saddle Ridge Elementary and Middle, and Rock Spring Elementary schools will use the mulch in coursework and field exercises, as well as planters, garden beds and greenhouses on campus.

The Solid Waste team also donated mulch to Eden’s Harvest, a Walker County nonprofit organization that promotes regenerative agricultural education. Eden’s Harvest operates a demonstration farm that provides free classes teaching agricultural methods and techniques that can be scaled from backyard gardens to farms of up to 200 acres.

All produce grown at Eden’s Harvest is donated to food banks and communities in need to help address shortages of fresh fruits and vegetables. “The donated mulch will be used to support the planting and maintenance of approximately 600 fruit, nut, and berry trees and bushes,” said Paine Gily, director of solid waste and environmental management.

Agriculture remains a prominent industry in Walker County. In the most recent UGA Farm Gate Value Report, Walker County ranked 48^th in the state. 557 farms produced over $119-million worth of poultry, livestock and crops like corn, cotton, hay and soybeans.