Our Team

Ty Brooks, Farm Director (he/him) ty.brooks@uga.edu is a Double Dawg with a bachelor’s in Wildlife Biology and master’s in Agricultural and Environmental Education. He is an experienced farmer who is passionate about organic growing practices. Ty loves spending time outside with his wife Anna Belle, their 2 daughters and their chiweenie Luna.

April McCoy, Farm Manager (she/her) april.mccoy@uga.edu graduated from UGA with a degree in ecology and a minor in studio art. She is interested in making sustainable agriculture accessible to more diverse communities.

Allie Johnston, Volunteer Coordinator graduated from UGA in 2023 with a degree in Horticulture. She likes working at UGArden because she gets to be a part of something bigger than just growing food. She finds it fulfilling to know that what we grow feeds people across Athens and teaches others about the value of our practices. She also loves tractors! Allie is a huge fan of the Dawgs and enjoys drives out to the Iron Horse statue.

Alexis Gresham, Grow it Know it Coordinator is a graduate of Georgia Southern University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in biology. She has conducted research on various topics, such as biomechanics, flea epidemiology, and Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) behavior. 

While working as a VISTA, Alexis is also pursuing a Master’s of Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of California, Berkeley. During her time as a VISTA, she hopes to gain insight on how to address poverty in rural communities. 

Erin Ideker, Communications Intern (she/her) is a 2nd year Landscape Architecture student. She likes working at UGArden because she gets to be outside every day learning something new. She also loves seeing all the animals that live at UGArden, especially the bunnies! In her free time Erin enjoys printmaking, sketching, and crafts of any kind. She can be reached at ugarden@uga.edu for press inquiries.

Riley Casteel, Student Worker (she/they ) is a first year Ecology major and Plant Bio minor. Riley wanted to be involved with UGArden because she loves our mission and wanted to work at a job that would be applicable to their future. “UGArden is a great way to combine my love of plants, sustainability, and community outreach.” A fun fact about Riley is that she owns 13 unique copies of Alice in Wonderland because it is their favorite book.

Stella Carrasco, Herb Student Worker (she/her) is a 3rd year Horticulture major. She wanted to be involved at UGArden because she took the Herbs, Spices, and Medicinal Plants course in the Spring and loved learning about all kinds of different herbs, their medicinal properties, and how to prepare them. A fun fact about Stella is that in her free time she likes to foster cats from the Humane Society.

Audrey O’Kelly, Compost Intern (she/her) is a 4^th Year A.B. Ecology major. “I love getting to learn more about what goes into maintaining a successful compost system and getting be more involved with the UGArden. I have been a part of the UGArden Club since my first semester freshman year, so this internship has been really special and fun for me! I have a cat named Pickles back at home!”

Donald Fowler, Resident Builder (he/him) is from Cordelle, GA. He is a retired contractor. Donald is our resident tiny house finisher, shelf builder and general handy-man.

Dr. Peter Hartel, Mushroom Guru (he/him) is a retired UGA soil microbiology professor who has a passion for organics, especially chickens and mushrooms. He has constructed a very efficient shiitake mushroom growing area at UGArden as a demonstration. Peter teaches classes in mushroom production (shiitake and oyster mushrooms) to students and volunteer.

Bert Richards, Master Composter (he/him)is a Master Gardener Extension Volunteer and helps at the UGA Trial Gardens, State Botanical Garden of Georgia, and UGA Horticulture Farm. He recently completed the Master Composter course and currently oversees composting at UGArden. He retired from Georgia State University as Lecturer in Accounting in 2013.