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Water Bottle Refill Stations at Schools, Parks Help Clean Waterways

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

You will soon start seeing water bottle refill stations. 

Clean Memphis recently won a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to install 50 stations at Memphis schools and parks. The stations are meant to reduce plastic in waterways, including the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River.

The majority of the water bottle refill stations were installed this summer at all six Compass Community Schools. Plumbers replaced 35 traditional water fountains with the new refill stations. Each campus may save up to $10,000 per year on plastic water bottle purchases, Clean Memphis said. School officials projected Compass students were using more than 500 single-use water bottles daily, mainly due to a lack of functioning fountains. 

Credit: Clean Memphis

New water bottle refill stations are headed for Overton Park, Overton Park Shell, Marquette Park, Whitehaven Park, Glenview Park, Weaver Park, Raines-Finley Park, Fletcher Creek Park, Flowering Peach Park, Germanshire Park, and Tom Lee Park.

We asked Clean Memphis executive director Janet Boscarino for more information about the new water stations. — Toby Sells 


Memphis Flyer: How do water refill stations help keep plastic out of oceans?

Janet Boscarino: Single-use plastic bottles are the leading source of litter/pollution, second only to cigarette butts. Once on the ground they move through our stormwater system to our rivers, lakes, and finally the ocean, breaking down into microplastics and harming the ecosystem. Research from the EPA shows that by providing infrastructure, such as water refill stations, in public spaces along with a corresponding outreach campaign encouraging reuse we can significantly reduce the number of plastics flowing into our water system. Additionally, on a national scale, less than 30 percent of plastic water bottles ever get recycled, making reuse the best strategy — always!

How will this effort help Memphis? 

We are hoping to foster a shift in culture from single-use, disposable products to reusable in every way possible. Reusable bags, bottles, coffee mugs, etc. … Most of our litter is comprised of single-use food and beverage packaging. We must focus more on source reduction and education. Reducing the amount of waste we are producing can help make Memphis a cleaner and greener city.

Describe the new water stations. Do they still have the traditional “water fountain” with an added refill station in the back? How are they used? 

They are fantastic! Yes, they have the old-school “bubblers” and then the bottle fillers up top. Some of them have doggie bowls if that was a request from the specific park or Memphis City Parks.

Credit: Clean Memphis

They are wrapped with our Choose to Reuse campaign design with a nod to the Memphis Sand Aquifer. We have amazing drinking water and we want to encourage local pride there. The bubbler arm has a tag line of “proudly serving Memphis tap water.” 

The units serve as important infrastructure to support reuse in public spaces. The wrap provides engagement and education with a QR code that connects you to more information about the campaign and how you can get involved.  

How many total stations will the grant support?

Fifty units in total. Thirty-five wall units have been installed in Compass Schools, replacing aged infrastructure that was closed during the pandemic. This forced the schools to purchase hundreds of single-use water bottles each week. 

The remaining 15 units are being installed in city parks. We selected Tom Lee, Overton Park, and Overton Park Shell due to their location and outreach potential. The additional parks were selected by Memphis City Parks based on need and other corresponding investments. 

And you’ll follow this up with an education campaign. Talk about Choose to Reuse, please. 

We launched a corresponding education and outreach campaign called Choose to Reuse on 901 weekend. We gave away nearly 500 reusable water bottles for the grand opening of Tom Lee and the fall kickoff of the Overton Park Shell. 

Credit: Clean Memphis

We will be hosting activation projects at each of the parks and in partnership with the schools. These will continue until the fall of 2024. We are launching a significant campaign on social media with partners in late September. 

We have also partnered with Fill it Forward (FIF). FIF has an app that allows you to track your diversion of single use plastic bottles every time you Choose to Reuse. We are giving away branded stickers with a QR code you scan every time you refill. Just attach to you favorite reusable bottle. The app will track your environmental impact and your hydration. Great way to gamify the campaign and to track participation.

Anything I left out? Anything you want to add?

Our new strategic direction focuses on moving Memphis towards a zero-waste, circular economy and providing the education and training to ensure its success. A key component of that strategy is to focus on reuse and source reduction. Look to see more campaign and education to support this work.

Visit the website for more information:

Choose to Reuse
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We Saw You: Loving “Loving Local”

Myra Cochrane, Grace Hill, Grace Siler, Kristen Lloyd at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)

I asked Beth Wilson what she was eating at that moment at Loving Local.

“Goodness,” she replied.

She had just visited Good Fortune Company’s food station, where chefs Sarah Cai and Arturo Leighton were serving “Big City Halal Cart” — chicken or tofu over rice.

So, I had to try it a.s.a.p. “Goodness” — and may I add “gracious” — it was so over-the-top good.

Arturo Leighton and Sarah Cai at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Janet Boscarino, Kathleen Quinlen, and Beth Wilson at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Good Fortune was just one of the food stations at the Project Green Fork event held June 15th at The Ravine. 

Also on hand were Monique Williams of Biscuits & Jams, Kevin Sullivan from Tsunami, Terrance Whitley of Inspire Community Cafe, and Caleb and Brandon Ellenburg from Central BBQ.

Caleb Ellenburg and Brandon Ellenburg at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Kayla Pritchett, Chef Mo (Monique Williams), and Maegan Jade at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Stacy and Kevin Williams at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Terrance Whitley, Jacqueline Thomas, and Jayden Whitley at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Gabrielle Shirley at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Project Green Fork is part of Clean Memphis, whose mission is to make Memphis a cleaner and greener city. The certified Clean Memphis restaurants at Loving Local take six steps to reduce their environmental impacts. That includes recycling, composting, and not using styrofoam.

The restaurants at Loving Local were among the 40 Project Green Fork certified restaurants, says Clean Memphis project manager Lisa Brown.

Lisa Brown at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)

“We’re spearheading zero waste events in Memphis,” Brown says. “Zero waste doesn’t literally mean no waste. It means sending the least amount of material to the landfill with our preferred waste streams being recycling and composting.

“We work with chefs and attendees to make sure everybody understands that we’re trying to keep as much material out of the landfill as possible. So, for our events, we typically send as low as three percent of the event waste to the landfill. And the other waste is either recycled or composted. We’re talking zero waste to the landfill because that stuff is going to sit there for 30 years. That stuff will likely outlive you and me.”

About 200 or so people attended Loving Local, which Brown describes as “an event that is fun for the entire family. You want to make sure the kids all the way up to grandparents are able to come to this event and eat good food and have fun.”

And, she says, “The guests are also able to mingle and talk with the chefs about their dish, about their restaurant, about their personal mission for environmental sustainability.”

Jake Tribble and Becky Campbell at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Rob and Lauren Williams at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Rob Jaffe and Sara Boscarino at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Hayes Nobert and Margaret Cowens at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Jake Allen, Janice Allen, Shelia Allen-Barron, Tammy Herron at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Sierra and Jack Lowry at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)

If you missed Loving Local, make plans to attend Project Green Fork’s Reharvest Memphis November 16th Downtown. The annual event is “to bring the awareness to the overall issue of food waste and how we are encouraged to think about food waste.”

They work with four or five chefs, who take surplus food “nearing the end of its life,” and “create new purposes for it.” Brown says.

For instance, a chef might take surplus Mid-South Food Bank cans of black eyed peas nearing their expiration date and, instead of sending them to a landfill, they create a dish with them. “We encourage attendees to be more creative with our food instead of looking at food as a resource and not necessarily as a commodity.”

In August, they will begin a new project, Brown says. “We’re planning a restaurant challenge. We will ask local restaurants to basically adopt two to three new practices that are going to help them reduce the majority amount of food waste that they’re producing. We’re going to start this in the Crosstown Evergreen area.”

Drew and Melodie Barton at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Jared Bulluck, George Abbott, Shaleen Ragha at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Dawn and Mike Weaver at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Ivan and Amanda Janga at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Scot Cowan, Michelle Cowan, Steve Boscarino, Georgia Edwards, Rob Jaffe, Sara Boscarino at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
DJ Alpha Whiskey at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
David Moore, Phoebe Moore, Tommy Schlather, Emma Simmons at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Kristen Rambo, Silas Armstrong, Elizabeth Blondis at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Duncan Galbraith and Day Galbraith at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Tim Hartline, Brandon Moss, Brenda Moss, Monica Townsend, Ben Townsend at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Emma Page, Becky Campbell, Heather Page at Loving Local (Credit: Michael Donahue)
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International Park(ing) Day

(Credit: MidtownMemphis.org)

If you drive past Midtown’s Cash Saver on Friday, you might be tempted to rubber-neck at an unusual spectacle in the street parking spaces, since, in honor of International Park(ing) Day, those spots will be converted into tiny parks. 

Park(ing) Day is a global, public, participatory art project, explains Emily Bishop, board member of MidtownMemphis.org, the organization spearheading the event in Memphis. “That’s a mouthful,” she says, “but it’s where you temporarily repurpose street parking spaces into places for art, play, and activism. What we’re trying to do is get people to reimagine that area of Midtown.”

When the area around Cash Saver, Pho Binh, Crumpy’s Hot Wings, and the like was restriped to add bike lanes, the city added parking lanes, too. “Nobody uses them,” Bishop says. “They kinda get used as an inappropriate passing lane or turning lane. I mean, I see it all the time going to Home Depot.”

As such, safety is one of the points of awareness for this Park(ing) Day Project, the other point being to bring greenery to the space. The plan, Bishop says, is to plant black gum and maple trees along the sidewalk that runs east of Cash Saver on Angelus. “The sidewalk is 10-feet wide, and it has no power lines overhead, so it’s the perfect place for street trees,” she says, adding that under a tree’s shade it can be 10-15 degrees cooler, a much needed benefit during Memphis’ hot summer months. “We’re already working with Cash Saver and the City Engineer’s Office, and if all goes well, we hope to plant those trees in early November.”

Rendering of plans for tree-planting along Angelus (Credit: MidtownMemphis.org)

In the meantime, Friday will be MidtownMemphis.org’s second Park(ing) Day in front of Cash Saver. This year, the group has partnered with Memphis City Beautiful, Clean Memphis, Evergreen, Central Gardens, Neighborhood Preservation Inc. (NPI), The Works Inc., and The Home Depot. 

“We’ll have some green carpet out there to make it feel like grass,” Bishop says. “There’ll be some games. We’ll have plants and bushes that’ll give you a feel of what that would be like. We’ll just see what the creativity of each of our partners is and what they do with their spaces.”

Giveaways and free snow cones will also be available, and attendees will have a chance to meet with the various groups to learn about upcoming projects and ways to volunteer. 

Already, MidtownMemphis.org has planted native trees, bushes, and flowering plants on Avalon, behind Murphy’s and next to Crumpy’s. 

“We were really inspired by the Medical District, the improvements they made, and, of course, Overton Square is so beautiful now,” Bishop says. “We just want this area in between to continue the good work and spread it on down. Everybody travels up and down that section of Madison.”

International Park(ing) Day, Madison Avenue in front of Cash Saver, Friday, September 16th, 3-7 pm. 

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We Saw You: Loving Local and The Ravine

Laura Gentry, Michael Donahue, and Dory sous chef Brandon Burke with a citrus-braised pork tostada at Loving Local. (Credit: Nannie Harris)

Memphis never fails to amaze me. And I’m a native Memphian.

I received an invitation to Loving Local, a Project Green Fork tasting event with cuisine from area restaurants, which was held June 16th at The Ravine at 435 Madison Avenue.

I’d never been to The Ravine. And, I discovered, this was the first event at the venue, which hasn’t officially opened yet.

Wow. Was I surprised when I saw the space. In addition to the beautiful about-to-open Memphis Made Brewing Co., the outdoor area in the rear was mind blowing. Looking down from a balcony, I saw tables, food vendors, DJ Crystal Mercedes, and plenty of room.

Let me reiterate. Wow.

I called Ethan Knight to fill me in on The Ravine. Knight is vice-president of development for Development Services Group, the lead master developer for a number of efforts in The Edge District, which includes The Ravine, Rise apartments, and Orion Federal Credit Union.

 “The Ravine is difficult to describe because it’s really unusual,” Knight says. “It’s a community gathering point, a public plaza, a park, and, ultimately, it creates a natural gathering point for The Edge District.

Loving Local at The Ravine. (Credit: Michael Donahue

“We’ve taken a piece of land that was basically a throw away. Was totally forgotten. We saw this unique opportunity to make it a very unique public space. That idea has evolved over time. Me and our team have been working on this for seven plus years. Trying to figure out how this whole Edge District comes together.”

The Ravine was an old railway, which used to be the end of the old Norfolk Southern Railway, Knight says. “There was a railroad station north of Madison back before Danny Thomas [Boulevard]. Tracks ran along The Ravine and underneath Monroe and Madison. In the ‘60s and ‘70s the train station went away and they put in Danny Thomas. I’m a civil engineer by trade, so all that stuff is fascinating to me.”

That view from the balcony where I was standing is “20 feet below Madison,” Knight says. Noting the trees above, he says, “We have tons of shade — morning shade, evening shade. You’re down in this bowl. Down in this ravine. It’s a good bit cooler down there than up on Madison and Monroe.”

And that’s a fact. I told someone at the party, “It’s not so bad tonight.” I thought temperatures had cooled down, but I think it was because of where I was standing at The Ravine.

The Ravine is “a long term vision,” Knight says. “What you saw last night is just the beginning in a sense. We have a whole second phase of plans for The Ravine after we see how people use it. It will continue to grow and evolve over time as The Edge District grows.”

Memphis Made Brewing Co. co-owner/president Drew Barton says, “I’m hoping we’re up and running pretty soon. Waiting on a few final things. Code inspections.”

This will be the second location of Memphis Made Brewing Co., which is at 768 South Cooper. It put out its first beer October 11, 2013, Barton says. “We’re keeping our current location. We’re just adding a second location, (which is) probably 17,000 square feet. So, it’s roughly three times the size of our current location.”

Janet Boscarino and Drew Barton at Loving Local. (Credit: Michael Donahue)

They thought The Ravine would be open in time for the event, says Janet Boscarino, executive director of Clean Memphis, the umbrella group that includes Project Green Fork. “We pushed on,” she says. The event “allowed people to see the space and see what it’s going to look like.”

Clean Memphis’s mission is “to work on Memphis, making a cleaner and greener city.”

Project Green Fork is “our restaurant sustainability certification, where our restaurants take six steps to reduce their environmental impacts.”

That includes “recycling, composting, and not using styrofoam. And so all the chefs that were there are all from Project Green Fork certified restaurants.”

Participating Project Green Fork restaurants represented at Loving Local were Good Fortune Co., Hen House, Salt/Soy, Tsunami, Da Guilty Vegan, and Dory. Mempops also was on hand. The Tipsy Tumbler provided the bartending service.

Loving Local at The Ravine. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
JeraVonte Twillie from Hen House at Loving Local. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Manus McMeen at Loving Local. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Sarah Cai and Arturo Leighton from Good Fortune Co. at Loving Local. (Credit: Michael Donahue)

“We do zero-waste events,” Boscarino says. “We control the atmosphere so that anything that comes in material wise can be recycled and composted, including forks, cups, everything. Food scraps, plates, everything that can be composted, and beer and wine bottles recycled. It’s a way for us to socialize the idea of zero waste.”

More than 200 attended, Boscarino says. “We loved it. Every time we do Loving Local — we’ve been on a two-year hiatus from the pandemic — we try to do it in a new location. The first one we did was when Loflin Yard was just opening. We were the first event in the Old Dominick space. We always try to find a new and interesting place that’s about to open.”

The Ravine has “that perfect indoor/outdoor atmosphere. The fact you’re in a ravine, which was something overlooked as a dead space, is now infused with energy and innovation. We love those kinds of spaces and bringing people together in them.”

Lajoyce Cole, Becky and Mike Todd, Devin Marzette, and Kevin Marzette at Loving Local. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Ari Zelig and Danielle Blake at Loving Local. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
DJ Crystal Mercedes at Loving Local. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Henry Turley and Wanda Shea at Loving Local. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Rob Jaffe, Sara Boscarino, Conner Forrester, Stewart Hart, Leesa Gavin, Georgia Edwards, and Jake Ratliff at Loving Local. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Bill Ganus, Ali Manning, George Abbott, and Shaleen Ragha at Loving Local. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Faith Butler and Nannie Harris at Loving Local. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
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Leaders Aim to Cut Food Waste by 2030

CREDIT: Kroger

Kroger

Justin Fox Burks

Food waste is in the crosshairs of city officials and local environmental leaders with a plan to reduce it by 50 percent by 2030.

The Memphis Food Waste Project is led by the nonprofit Clean Memphis and joined by a coalition of private and public partners, including the City of Memphis, the Memphis and Shelby County Office of Sustainability and Resilience, Memphis Transformed, Project Green Fork, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Compost Fairy, Epicenter, Kroger, the Mid-South Food Bank, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Together, the groups will push to reduce food waste to save money, improve the environment, and help ensure fewer Memphians go hungry.

Clean Memphis executive director Janet Boscarino said food waste and packaging now comprise 30 percent of landfill volume. It also produces the most methane gas (the most harmful gas), she said. These reductions will aid city leaders to meet goals detailed in the Memphis Area Climate Action Plan.

“The City of Memphis can service as a leader in developing a more sustainable food systems approach, reducing wasted food, and the resulting wasted labor, land, and money, as well as increased pollutants by supporting waste diversion and generating useful products such as finished compost with this diverted food waste,” reads a December proclamation from Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland.

Justin Fox Burks

Dirty work: the BFI landfill near Millington

Food waste can be diverted from restaurants, hospitality providers, and other food producers in the city, according to the proclamation. Food from those sources has “great rescue potential” for food “that would otherwise go to waste.” The food could be retrieved and donated to those in need, Strickland said in the proclamation.

Boscarino said the United States spends $218 billion (or about 1.3 percent of the gross domestic product) growing, transporting, and disposing of food that is never eaten. She said the waste numbers are staggering given that one in eight Americans are food insecure — lack reliable access to food because of money and other concerns — and that one in five Memphians are food insecure.

Waste occurs along nearly every stop in the food supply chain here, Boscarino said. Some food spoils as farmers can’t move it to market quickly enough. Some food is tossed as it may not meet cosmetic standards, even though it has the same taste or nutritional value. Food continues to spoil as it moves through the supply chain to grocery stores, restaurants, and hospitality venues, she said. But the largest food-waste sector “by far,” she said, is in homes.

“We over-purchase, we don’t store things rights, we don’t eat leftovers, we don’t use all parts of the food, and we’re not composting at a level we need to,” Boscarino said.

To combat all of this, Project Green Fork will be working with restaurants, hospitality venues like hotels, and event spaces like FedExForum to donate their food and avoid waste. Memphis Food Waste Project members will educate residents on how to more sustainably shop for groceries, how to store food, how to freeze food, and how to “fall in love with leftovers,” Boscarino said.

Test your food waste knowledge with an online quiz at www.cleanmemphis.org.

Read Strickland’s proclamation here:
[pdf-1]

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Groups Plan Clean-up of Coliseum Ahead of Fall Events

CREDIT: Facebook/Coliseum Coalition

Facebook/Coliseum Coalition

Mid-South Coliseum

Local grassroots organizations are calling for volunteers to help with the second Mid-South Colisuem clean-up on Saturday, August 10th.

The effort, spearheaded by Clean Memphis and the Coliseum Coalition in partnership with the city, is in preparation of upcoming events planned for the building this fall.

Saturday volunteers will clean from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., sweeping, organizing, picking up litter, and doing other tasks. Sign up for the clean-up here. Only 16 of 50 volunteer slots remain open, but there is a waiting list.

After the clean-up, volunteers will receive lunch and a tour of the Coliseum.

One of the upcoming events is the Roundhouse Revival 4, a day-long community event featuring music and wrestling. It’s slated for September 21st.

In the past, the event has been a forum for organizers to gather community input on the future of the Coliseum and garner support.

Roy Barnes, president of the Coliseum Coalition, the group pushing for the preservation and reopening of the building, said that the past Roundhouse events have contributed to the “growing public opinion that the building has a future.”

This year, for the first time, the Roundhouse Revival will take place inside the Coliseum.

The first Coliseum clean-up took place in April. That’s when the building was opened to the public for the first time since it closed in 2007. In preparation for the Roundhouse and other events this fall, city officials are in the process of moving historic items that have been stored in the building since the time it was closed.

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Some of the historic papers and memorabilia stored there will be organized for an online digital collection, some of it will be preserved in the library’s permanent collection, and other items will be curated for display during the Coliseum’s revitalization period.

Facebook/Coliseum Coalition

Inside the Mid-South Coliseum

“We are excited to be a part of the revitalization of this historic place,” said Clean Memphis executive director Janet Boscarino. “Part of our mission is to raise awareness around materials having value. To that end, we will focus on upcycling and recycling materials, avoiding landfilling as much as possible.”

Last year, the state designated the Mid-South Fairgrounds, including the Coliseum, as a tourism development zone (TDZ), allowing the Coliseum to stay in place rather than be demolished.

Any redevelopment of the Coliseum would happen in the third phase of the Fairgrounds project.

“The Coliseum has been officially saved, and soon it will be cleaned up and ready to host the public once again,” Marvin Stockwell, co-founder of the Coliseum Coalition, said. “When people get to see what our VIPs have been seeing for the last two years, we will find the collective civic will to reopen the building. Investors will see the public’s love of the building, and they’ll see the opportunity.”

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Clean Memphis Takes Over Project Green Fork

Back in 2007, Margot McNeeley noticed most local restaurants were still using Styrofoam takeout containers. Upon further inspection, she also realized most weren’t recycling. So she set out to do something about it.

McNeeley founded Project Green Fork (PGF), a restaurant sustainability certification program that helps restaurateurs commit to recycling, using Earth-friendly takeout boxes, and green cleaners.

It’s grown to include 75 PGF-certified restaurants, catering companies, and coffee shops across the city. Since 2008, those restaurants have recycled more than four million pounds of plastic, glass, aluminum, cardboard, and paper and more than 200,000 gallons of food waste.

But as of the first of the year, McNeeley is stepping down as PGF’s executive director, and the organization, which was previously a stand-alone organization, is being merged into the programs at Clean Memphis, a grassroots nonprofit that organizes volunteer cleanups and does sustainability outreach education in schools and in the community.

“I’m ready to take on something new. And I think I’ve taken Project Green Fork as far as I can take it as a one-woman show,” said McNeeley, who has operated the organization by herself since its 2008 founding. “Clean Memphis has a much larger budget and more resources than we ever did, and they have a bigger staff and the capability to take it further.”

PGF certifies restaurants that promise to adhere to six steps: 1) convert disposables to compostable, biodegradable products; 2) recycle all recyclable items; 3) develop a composting process; 4) use nontoxic cleaning products; 5) make efforts to conserve energy and water; and 6) maintain grease traps and kitchen hoods to prevent overflows and emissions to sewer and storm systems.

Under Clean Memphis, McNeeley says PGF will maintain the six steps to certification.

“I don’t want people who have supported this for so long to think it’s going away,” McNeeley said. “It’s continuing and will be taken to the next level, whatever that next level may be.”

Janet Boscarino cofounded Clean Memphis in 2008, along with her neighbor Darrin Hills and his boss Mark Lovell, to organize volunteers to pick up litter. The organization also does outreach education work in schools, and they developed a Sustainable Schools program to certify schools in much the same way that PGF certifies restaurants.

In the program’s 20 certified schools, students volunteer for cleanups, plant vegetable gardens, learn about watershed health and water quality, and participate in other sustainable initiatives.

“When we were developing that program, Margot was one of the people I reached out to because of her work with sustainability in restaurants,” Boscarino said. “We grew our understanding of each other’s missions and vision of what we would see Memphis becoming with restaurants and schools moving toward more sustainability.”

Boscarino said, when McNeeley approached her a few months ago about merging the organizations, she knew it would be a good fit. The boards of directors for both organizations discussed the matter, and a decision was reached to pull the PGF program into Clean Memphis’ fold.

“At this point, we don’t see any changes to the program,” Boscarino said. “It’s been very successful, so especially for the first year, we would bring that program under our umbrella and get to know it and understand the ins and outs, as opposed to making any changes.”

Clean Memphis is currently searching for a program coordinator to run PGF. That person will run the day-to-day operations, like McNeeley did, but Clean Memphis will handle the administrative tasks associated with PGF, something McNeeley had to manage on her own before the merger.

“The new program coordinator can just focus on building the program and promoting the restaurants and sustainability,” Boscarino said.

As for what McNeeley will do next, she won’t say yet: “I have three things I’m working on, but I’m not ready to announce any.”