Leslie Young - The Commercial Appeal -

In the past year, city officials and community members have made major strides in permanently painting the color green into the Memphis landscape.

Here's what some key players in the Memphis green scene are thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Don Richardson, a sustainability coach and a major participant in the original Greening Greater Memphis, Sustainable Shelby, Greater Memphis Greenline, West Tennessee Regional Sustainability Forum, West Tennessee Urban Forestry Council, Tennessee Sustainability Summit and the Tennessee Sierra Club, says he appreciates the people of Memphis and their enterprising spirit.

"I'm thankful for the many accomplishments of neighborhoods, community organizations and local government that are producing measurable impacts, but I'm most thankful for the many individuals who are stepping up with workable initiatives that demonstrate a can-do attitude. That fills me with great hope and much thanksgiving," he said.

Eldra White, the executive director of Memphis City Beautiful, is thankful for the volunteer spirit alive throughout the Bluff City.

"I am thankful for the over 23,000 volunteers who conducted clean-ups in the city with our help," White said. "We had 545 clean-ups go through this agency last year, either borrowing tools from us or asking for our advice on how to organize."

She is also grateful for the work done this past year to make future initiatives run a little more smoothly.

"We were able to raise money for a new mini-grant program, offering small grants to neighborhood groups who want to plant trees or flowers or make improvements from a green point of view," she said.

Beth Brock, president of the Memphis Farmers Market, says the market wouldn't be the success it is without the support of the Memphis community.

"Last year, we had over 65,000 visitors. This year, attendance was up 7 percent from last year. 2011 was our highest attendance on record," she said. "I'm thankful for the Memphis community and how they have embraced the market. They have recognized the importance of supporting local community farmers, while bringing the community together. It has become this fast tradition."

In her Thanksgiving toast, she also cites the people behind the scenes who make the market happen.

"I'm just so thankful the founding members even had the vision and tenacity to create the market in the first place," she said. "We have hundreds of volunteers, and everybody is so willing to work and do what it takes throughout the year to make sure our farmers market works."

As she looks toward next year, she hopes for continued participation.

"Through the continued support of the market comes continued support of the local farmer and the local economy," Brock said. "We have to make sure farms are going to be around for our kids and our grandkids, so they can have access to healthy food. It is also continued support of economic development Downtown. A healthy Downtown is another positive effect of the market," Brock said.

As the Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator for the City of Memphis, Kyle Wagenschutz is grateful to be a part of the future of Memphis.

"I am thankful that I have the opportunity to positively affect how our community is growing, making it more bicycle-friendly in terms of how we do development and building our roadways," he said. "The work we're doing now, my son will be able to reap the benefits as he grows older."

He looks forward to how the 30 miles of bicycle lanes already constructed and the planned 50 to 75 miles of bike lanes soon to be installed will affect Memphians.

"I sold my car, and I go everywhere on my bicycle. (The other day) I was biking to work, and the weather was absolutely beautiful. I thought to myself, '90 percent of the community doesn't get to experience this on their way to work. I wonder how everything would operate if they did, if they got to experience it even just a little bit,'" he said.

Paul Young, administrator of the Memphis and Shelby County Office of Sustainability, is "thankful for this opportunity that I have to be on the front end of moving Memphis and Shelby County to a more sustainable future.

"I am also thankful for the members of our community who have been so receptive to all the green ideas we have thus far tried to take on," he said.

Matt Farr, the manager of education and outreach for the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, is just as grateful for the bumpy parts of the journey toward a greener Memphis as he is for any smooth sailing.

"I know it's weird, but I am thankful for the challenges we've had to face, and our ability to overcome it," he said. "Memphis has the opportunity to tell a really great story. It's all because of the people. The thing that makes Memphis Memphis is its people."