Amplify Memphis Day Three: Organic farming at Shelby Farms and a walk with THE Shelby County Historian!
Each day, Amplify Memphis will have participating students serve as guest bloggers. Today’s bloggers are Boo McWaters (’20) and David Ogle (’20):
Starting off our third day of our Memphis adventure, the group visited the Shelby Farms Greenline Gardens. We first met with volunteers who are high school or college students, one of which happened to be a St. George’s alumnus, Annabelle Bright (’13)! She’s been volunteering at the gardens for two summers when home from college at Belmont University in Nashville. We were given a tour of the gardens and the animals they take care of before getting to work.
The group split in half, with half going to till ground to plant tomatoes, cantaloupes, and crystal apples. The other group planted a variety of vegetables in raised beds that were built by the volunteers last summer. One of the volunteers asked if we had ever held a chicken, which none of us had before, so we moved to the chicken coop, which was built and painted by the four volunteers. Everyone had an opportunity to hold a chicken and take a photo with it! We then got to take some cuttings from a flowering bush and planted them into biodegradable pots to take home with us to grow at home. After our work, we gathered together in a gazebo to talk about the Shelby Farms Greenline Gardens and learn moreabout our local environment in Memphis. All of the foodplanted at the Shelby Farms Greenline Gardens is organic and they use no chemical fertilizers or pesticides with the plants.
After doing our farm work at Shelby Farms, we drove downtown and enjoyed lunch at The Arcade Restaurant, which is the oldest operating cafe in Memphis. Opened in 1919, this restaurant still makes delicious food including all-day breakfast options. We were given twenty minutes to check out SouthMain Street in groups. Afterwards, we took a trolley ride to Court Square, where we met up with my uncle, Jimmy Ogle. Jimmy Ogle has had many honors such as being the official Shelby County Historian, being able to throw out the first pitch at a Redbirds game, and being able to meet all of the newGrizzlies players before every season starts to share with them just what makes Memphis so great. He
shared stories about how Memphis was first founded and how it became what it is today. We learned specifically about Memphis during the American Revolution,the Civil War, and the yellow fever epidemics. Jimmy brought us to the bluff along the Mississippi River and he told us about the river’s characteristics and importance. All within the timeframe of around an hour and fifteen minutes, Jimmy had given us a full history of the city of Memphis. If you ever want to go on one of these tours, he does tours that focus on all sorts of facets of our city, and can be contacted through his website at http://www.jimmyogle.com/. I am honored to have him as my uncle.
shared stories about how Memphis was first founded and how it became what it is today. We learned specifically about Memphis during the American Revolution,the Civil War, and the yellow fever epidemics. Jimmy brought us to the bluff along the Mississippi River and he told us about the river’s characteristics and importance. All within the timeframe of around an hour and fifteen minutes, Jimmy had given us a full history of the city of Memphis. If you ever want to go on one of these tours, he does tours that focus on all sorts of facets of our city, and can be contacted through his website at http://www.jimmyogle.com/. I am honored to have him as my uncle.