Riggins (‘23) Starts The Urban Garden Initiative to Advocate Sustainability
Recently, Hannah Riggins (‘23) started the San Diego chapter of The Urban Garden Initiative (TUGI) at Del Norte High School.
TUGI is an international nonprofit organization founded in Wilmington, Delaware whose mission is “ to empower youth to promote urban sustainability through a gardening based educational program.” TUGI was originally founded to promote food security in urban areas as well as local economic development. Through partnerships with schools, educational workshops, and the chapter leaders, TUGI promotes sustainability by teaching youth in urban communities about the benefits of urban agriculture.
“Ideally, we would have workshops with schools in person but COVID-19 has prevented that,” Riggins says. Riggins, who is also part of TUGI’s youth executive committee, explains that all chapters traditionally have both an interactive and educational approach to spreading urban agriculture. The TUGI organization creates lesson plans to teach youth about the importance of urban gardening and each chapter then spreads that curriculum in their local area.
As a result, club members are trying their best to continue to advocate urban gardening while still adhering to safety guidelines. They continue to use social media as a platform to spread educational articles and promote urban agriculture. Additionally, they are creating educational videos to post on TUGI’s youtube channel. The club’s goal, when possible, is to raise funds to build raised container garden beds in lower income areas. Raised container garden beds are a type of urban gardening method that are above ground and allow for food production despite low soil quality.
“As our climate grows increasingly worse and our world gets closer to the point of no return, I think it’s really important to emphasize how growing your food locally and sustainably will benefit the environment” due to the “ underlying causes of climate change as a result of food production and transportation,” Riggins explains. She adds that the carbon output created when food is transported over thousands of miles contributes “little by little to global climate change.” However, with urban gardening you have control over what’s going into your food, so you know it will be “organic, healthy, and free of pesticides.” By explaining the detrimental effects of food transportation in regards to climate change, Riggins highlights the importance of bringing TUGI to our community.
At Del Norte, TUGI continues to spread their message, educating youth on climate-friendly, sustainable gardening methods and striving to make a greener future.