The Tigers Initiative for Gardens In Urban Settings will host its eighth annual Earth Day celebration Wednesday. The event will be from 10am to 2pm and will include free lunch and music, Zumba, self-defense classes, two bouncy houses and much more.
Kacee Benson, graduate assistant for TIGUrS, has been with the garden for two semesters. She said the group wants this year’s celebration to be the biggest ever.
“We’re trying to make a statement because we almost lost the garden last semester,†Benson said. “[Administration] wanted to turn it into a parking lot. The garden does so much for students.â€
The Urban Garden, located behind the Elma Roane Fieldhouse, has been a model for organic and sustainable gardening in urban environments since 2009. The community garden grows fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers and is open to students, staff and members of the surrounding community. Anyone is welcome to visit the garden to pick the produce planted there.
“The urban garden works in two ways. It provides an educational format for students to learn about growing their own food and serves as a supplement for students who don’t necessarily have the means to grow their own food or make it to the grocery store,†Benson said.
Anna Vo has worked with the TIGUrS garden for two years now and said she diligently worked on the plans for Wednesday.
Anna Vo
“I just love being outdoors, and I have a garden at home. This just seems like the perfect fit for me,†Vo said. “We’re trying harder this year to show that we’re here, and we’re here to stay.â€
When administration considered paving over the garden to create 120 new parking spaces last semester, student-gardeners spoke out and won the favor of a SGA vote. Though last semester’s final SGA vote sided with TIGUrS, the war is not over, Vo said.
The next step for TIGUrS is to get more grants. Most of the garden’s expenses are covered by the green fee — a fee that may not “be a thing†much longer, Vo said. Still, she is hopeful for the future of the garden.
“We’ve touched a lot more people (since I started),†Vo said. “We’ve reached out to more schools. We have more varieties of plants for different culture groups. We just keep it diverse.â€
Alexander Plummer has been with the garden for a year. He is also volunteering for the Earth Day celebration.
“Hopefully they don’t dress me up in a costume,†Plummer said. “I think they have a giant pepper.â€
 The club itself isn’t just good for the University of Memphis — it’s setting a good example for Shelby County Schools. According to Plummer, there are 68 gardens in SCS.
While Plummer and many of his coworkers don’t study anything related to agriculture, he still enjoys working for the garden, and students should still come out to the TIGUrS Earth Day celebration, no matter what they are studying.
“There will be two bands, Nick Black and Brennan Villines, and a classical performer,†Art Johnson, the coordinator for the celebration, said. “It’s important to show that the university has a strong community and sustainability-focused agenda.â€
For Johnson, the outdoorsy get-together serves as a way to celebrate the gifts of life with anyone and everyone.
“The main importance is for us to all come together and celebrate the gifts Mother Nature affords us, without asking anything in return,†Johnson said. “She provides us with food, air, and beautiful spaces. The garden has been successful for years now, and we’d like to take that into a decade or two.â€
The TIGUrS garden on the U of M campus will host its annual Earth Day celebration Wednesday.Â
