[Durham INC] Neighborhood Hero puts roots in Tuscaloosa (Durham News)

[John Schelp]

'Hero' puts roots in Tuscaloosa: Resident's efforts beautify area 
By David Elstein, Durham News, 1 July 2009 

To find Todd Twigg's house, look for the place on Huron Street where there are remnants of a 200-year-old white oak blocking his driveway. Look closer and you will see that the driveway is missing. In its place is a garden. 

Twigg, 30, a graduate student at Duke University's biology department, and his wife Kristin knew that the 85- or so year-old house was perfect for them the first time they saw it.

While the house already had a lot of plants, they added more and have made much of it sustainable. In the back is a compost pile next to a vegetable garden. The runoff from compost helps grow the vegetables. On the other side of the compost is a homemade hot tub they use the water for the yard.

But Todd's interest in gardening extends beyond his property, and that is why he was designated a 2009 "Neighborhood Hero" by the InterNeighborhood Council of Durham for the Tuscaloosa-Lakewood neighborhood.

"There really wasn't anyone else we could think of who has done more for Tuscaloosa-Lakewood," said Frances Kerr, secretary and former president of Tuscaloosa-Lakewood Association, the group that nominated Twigg.

The Twiggs live near Anderson Apartments, where graduate student Abhijit Mahato was murdered in January 2008. "It was a very hard thing for everyone in the neighborhood," Todd said.

While they did not know Mahato, they still felt like they needed to help out. They raised money from the community to pay for two apricot trees near Mahato's former home.

Growing up in Massachusetts, Todd's parents, who were gardeners, had a small greenhouse. His mentor at Connecticut College was a plant ecologist and a huge advocate for the environment.

When Lexington Avenue was created in 1998, the developer took out many trees, which "left a scar," according to Kerr. The new residents tried planting but the trees did not survive because of the poor soil.

So Todd talked to Durham's Urban Forestry Division and learned about a program where residents can buy plants at a discount. Working with several organizations, Todd helped the neighborhood plant 50 trees. Even though it was during the drought, most of them have survived. Todd thought it was a "cool" experience, especially since all the neighbors helped out.

Todd has done, and is doing, other projects with Durham and nonprofits to help beautify the city and make it sustainable.

Todd estimates that about half of the plants at his home are gifts from neighbors. The Twiggs also "steal" their neighbors' leaves to use as mulch. But he also lets the neighbors "steal" from him. The large tree in the front of his house was chopped down by Durham nine months ago. He did not want it to be taken away by the city, fearing it would end up in an out-of-state landfill. So he plans on using the logs for firewood and other purposes. Like a number of other items in the garden, the wood is available to neighbors.