Memphis Tree Farm & Garden
Revitalizing our neigborhood, block by block
Leader
Timothy Netter
Location
Kansas Street Memphis, TN 38109
About the project
While driving through my neighborhood (Riverview/Kansas) on my way home over the years, my daughter has asked me why our neighborhood looks the way it does, and why isn’t it as nice as other neighborhoods. During this time I began to realize that: many of our youth may not know anything else, so consequentially many become merely a product of their environment. So, I began to foster a plan to clean up my neighborhood, while cultivating community gardens that would not only serve as a point of attraction for a community that many of its residents feel has been largely forgotten in the agenda to revitalize Memphis, TN. Along the way, I’ve also had an awesome experience with learning about native hardwood trees. Thus, I along with the Neighborhood Preservation Inc. (NPI), am also seeking to establish The Memphis Native Hardwood tree farm. A tree farm that grows a very large number of native hardwood trees has a huge potential to impact Memphis neighborhoods and streetscapes in a powerful way, stimulating a green, healthy environment and enhancing the natural beauty and resilience of Memphis. Memphis has ample sunshine and rain, and for that reason has been long deemed a “hardwood capital”. It is the belief of many of the residents within this very community, along with my own, that beautification of the community could help to bolster a sense of pride and ultimately negate a lot of other issues that unfortunately have become synonymous with the Kansas/Riverview community (https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/02/city-fights-crime-gardening).
The Steps
1. Acquire various materials that will aid us in this endeavor
2. Collect soil samples
3.Draft up the schematics that will illustrate what we'd like to see - within our budge of course
4. Begin construction June 20, 2020
Why we‘re doing it
The primary reasons are beautifying a neglected area in the Southwest section of Memphis, TN; as well as providing opportunities for residents- even people that are misfortunate to have access to fresh vegetation from the land itself