The University of Illinois chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) took first place in the Ernst & Young "Your World Your Vision" case competition, earning $10,000 for its Community Garden Vision Plan.
The competition kicked off in late October; 17 teams from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign were competing for one spot to represent Illinois at the national level. Students were asked to submit a proposal for a community service initiative around the 3 E’s--education, environment, or entrepreneurship that would make a difference in the Champaign/Urbana Community.
EWB Outreach won first place in the regional competition, moving on to the national round where it competed with over 81 teams from across the U.S. and Canada. Over Spring Break, the outreach team found out that it had placed first in the competition, receiving an award of $10,000 to establish a community garden in Urbana.
The garden is planned to be in Douglass Park, just north of campus. The neighborhood to the north of campus is the poorest area in Champaign. The EWB Outreach team felt that should be doing something to help this section of the community. The garden will have low cost plots for rent, a small demonstration garden to help educate the community members, and a portion of the garden will be reserved for the school located just off of the park. The Outreach team will be working with the school to incorporate the garden into the curriculum and will also be holding classes in the community center on site for the community members. The garden will break ground in the Summer of 2011.
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