Growing Power, a nonprofit urban farm on Milwaukee’s north side, recently announced a partnership in sustainability with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Student organization Act Everywhere has been working with Growing Power since 2010, but last week’s announcement formalizes and expands the joint venture.

Act Everywhere is working with the university’s restaurant operations administrators, Growing Power and student government representatives to implement a campus-wide composting program. It hopes to ship the campus’ organic waste to Growing Power’s urban farm, where it will be turned into fertilizer.

At last week’s press conference, university representatives announced the application of composting at all of the university’s coffee shops and discussed efforts to expand composting to all of its kitchens and cafeterias.

“We’re happy to announce all five Grind units are working together to compost grounds as well as all cafeteria and residence halls,” said Chad Boppel, UW-Milwaukee restaurant operations manager.

Sustainability efforts already implemented at Sandburg Hall, the university’s four-tower student residence, will be expanded to all Grind coffee shops, campus kitchens and cafeterias.

“UWM will be a light in the community and a guide to sustainability,” said Ellyn Thompson, an Act Everywhere member and media liaison for the project.

She said the group is thrilled to work with Growing Power. Its founder, Will Allen, was named one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2009 and 2010.

Thompson believes the partnership between Growing Power and UWM could serve as a model for other area universities.

“If the infrastructure is set up on the university’s end, Growing Power will be more than willing to help,” she said.

Growing Power is already familiar on Marquette’s campus. Many students and faculty volunteer at the urban farm, and members of Students for an Environmentally Active Campus sell Growing Power vegetables through the organization’s Market Basket program.

Although Sodexo has approached Growing Power multiple times, the farm maintains it is unable to provide all of the vegetables needed and is not able to accommodate the amount of compost materials the university would produce, said Kate Venne, director of university communication.

A composting partnership between Marquette and Growing Power may not be in the works at the moment, but Marquette has made efforts to improve its sustainability.

The university now implements campus-wide “single-stream recycling,” or streamlined recycling.

The Sustainability Task Force, SEAC and the university architect’s office work together to support the Wisconsin Native Tree Project.

New buildings Zilber Hall and McCabe Hall have earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, Eckstein Hall is expected to be certified soon, and the university will seek certification for the Discovery Learning Complex after its completion.