The Frayser Community Urban Garden recently won the City of Memphis’ first Community Beautification Pitch Competition, a competition for individuals to pitch to the Memphis City Council on projects focusing on improving neighborhoods.
The Frayser Community Urban Garden was established in a collaboration between UT Health Science Center’s College of Medicine and its Board of Visitors advisory council; the City of Memphis Division of Parks and Neighborhoods, which offered the land for the garden; residents of Frayser; and the University of Tennessee Extension Institute of Agriculture.
As the winner, the garden will receive comprehensive support from the council, which may include financial and logistical support, and collaboration with city departments. “It’s not just a win for Frayser, it’s a win for the city,” said Camille James, manager of the Frayser Community Urban Garden. “Normally when you put the word Frayser in Google, you would see all this crime. Now, if you put in the Frayser garden, it’s popping up, it’s changing the narrative. And that was one of the objectives Dr. Altha Stewart gave to us, she said ‘let’s change the narrative.’”
Altha Stewart, MD, senior associate dean for Community Health Engagement in the College of Medicine and founding director of the Center for Youth Advocacy and Well-Being at the UT Health Science Center, led the organization of the garden and the planting kick-off event in 2021.
“I am extremely proud of the work of the Garden Council over the past three years,” said Dr. Stewart. “Their efforts have resulted in bringing together members of the community in support of a shared goal for how they want their community viewed going forward. UT Health Science Center is proud to be a supporter of this work.”
The garden provides access to free, locally grown foods and nutritional education for the community.
“Some of the major need in the community and in areas that are deemed food deserts is that they don’t have access to locally fresh, grown food,” James said. “There isn’t a lot of education centered around urban agriculture, and the community also needed safe areas.”
In 2023, the College of Medicine held a dedication ceremony at the garden, placing a new sign sponsored by the College of Medicine’s Board of Visitors, acknowledging the community partnerships and support for the garden.
In addition to providing healthy foods, it continues to educate and engage the community through gardening classes, group plots, garden tours for school children, events, and other opportunities. “It is considered a learning garden,” said James. “The idea is that you come to the garden to learn and take the knowledge back to your backyard, church, or your organization and duplicate it.”
The garden also includes a walking trail, a peach tree, tire art, and a composting station to instruct community members in transforming trash into soil. Recently, the garden council launched the Journee’s Kids Learning Garden, named after Journee Upton, who is 3-years-old and consistently participates in the garden. The learning garden features a sensory area for children to engage in gardening collectively.
“Now we’re planting native fruit trees so that we can create a food forest in the back, and we’re trying to work with the environment, not tear anything down, just cultivate what’s there,” said James. “UT Health Science Center has been so instrumental because they’ve been doing the heavy lifting as far as the financial end. The garden council formed itself, and now they’re an unincorporated association with plans to become a 501(c)(3) organization.”
The garden continues to increase in community partnerships from additional individuals and organizations including the Legacy of Legends Community Development Corporation, Shelby County Commissioner Charlie Caswell, Beta Epsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Nike, and LifeLine to Success.
“We want to access Dr. Stewart’s vision of allowing the garden to be this place for preventive health care,” said James. “Walking, doing yoga, growing and eating fresh foods, all of these practices from the garden can complement and take some of the burden off the health care system.”