Big Lou Memorial Garden. Owned by a neighbor, this fenced back yard was the longtime home of neighborhood celebrity Big Lou the Emu. Lou received a constant stream of visitors bearing his favorite snacks (grapes, especially). He was especially beloved by the children of the neighborhood, but many adults also stopped by to spend time with him. 

Originally brought to the Land Trust by Norman Glassman and his son Noah in 1990, Lou roamed a large area made up of the connected back yards of Amata on Nelms and Arizona Ave. residents Stephen Wing and Dawn Aura, along with two goats who were his inseparable companions. In ????, the interior of the block was re-landscaped to create a more unified topography and Lou’s territory was reduced to Wing and Dawn’s back yard, sometimes shared with chickens and ducks. Dawn became his devoted caretaker for the remainder of his long life.

After his death in 2022 a memorial service was held in the Amphitheater and many people spoke movingly of his impact on their lives. He was about 30 years old, remarkably long-lived for an emu. A large rebar sculpture (actually of an ostrich, donated by Mary Lin School) decorated with emu feathers marks his grave.