Guerilla Gardening
“Every politically engaged person should have a garden.” - Camille Dungy, author of Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden (2023)
Have you heard that Gardening can be considered a Radical Act? The act of gardening can be seen as a form of protest, resistance, and social change. When you grow a heirloom tomato from seed to harvest you are challenging the large supermarket chains and corporate agriculture by being self-sufficient. A radical act can be a bold, dramatic action or a quiet individual effort that challenges the status quo. These actions, large or small, take us out of our comfort zones and require sensitivity, initiative, and courage. Guerilla gardening is one form of protest. The definition of guerilla gardening is “the act of gardening on land that gardeners don’t have the legal right to cultivate” (wikipedia). This subversive approach takes fallow land and abandoned spaces and turns them into green spaces. The oldest example of Guerilla gardening can be found in 1649 England.
Gerrard Winstanley was an English political philosopher, Protestant reformer, and activist leader of the agrarian socialist group “The True Levellers,” or “Diggers”. This group believed the earth as a “common treasury” and they cultivated public land in order to “promote their political claim to re-structure land ownership” (critical concrete). They believed in economic equality, social freedom, and abolishing private property. “The True Levellers” leveled out ditches,hedges, and walls at night. This destruction of barriers and fences by the True Levellers was known as The Enclosure riots. These protests were motivated by the loss of common rights and economic hardship in towns and cities.
Over 100 years later, and across the Atlantic Ocean, John Chapman, horticulturalist, businessman, and true capitalist, traveled across Pennsylvania and Ohio broadcasting Apple seeds and later establishing fenced nurseries for these trees on private land just outside rural communities. Johnny “Appleseed” grew apples not for eating, but for hard cider that was the popular drink at that time. Chapman planted by seed (not by graft) on unclaimed and undeveloped land. Chapman would later claim this land as his legally, which was common frontier practice. He would later sell these trees and the nurseries to other frontier pioneers. I have included his story because his distribution of seeds on open land is a form of guerilla gardening. It can be argued if it was for the greater good or personal wealth.
Fast forward to the twentieth century, Hattie Carthan noticed that there were no trees along the sidewalk in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. She always had an interest in trees and began to replant trees in the sidewalk. In 1971 she started the Tree Corps, teaching young people how to take care of these newly planted trees. Ms. Carthan, a strong advocate of neighborhood associations became the chairwoman of the Bed-Stuy Beautification Committee which planted 1,500 trees in the neighborhood. Her remarkable story is linked in the video below. Ms. Carthan also gave advice and inspiration to other activists in the 1970’s NYC including Liz Christy, founder of The Green Guerrillas.
The Green Guerrillas transformed neglected and abandoned lots in the Bowery- Houston section on the lower east side. They became frustrated with the city’s financial neglect and released seed bombs in vacant lots. Over time they turned fallow land into green space. The green space became a community garden which is still active today. Christy is credited as the “mother of the community garden movement”. This form of civil disobedience challenged the norms of land ownership and addresses issues of lack of green space and food insecurity. The tension between city and the community garden organizers caught the attention of the press and both parties were able to reach an agreement. The Green Guerrillas agreed to pay a lease of $1.00/ month. The space is cared for by volunteers and now protected by the city parks department.
Ron Finley, founder of LA Green Grounds, started growing fresh vegetables in his hellstrip in South LA in 2010. The hellstrip is the patch of ground between the sidewalk and the street. Like most places, the town or city owns the hellstrip, but the property owner is responsible for maintaining the area. Finley’s garden cultivated and fed his community with much more than vegetables. The grassroots organization hosts educational classes and Dig-In’s where members help establish new hellstrip gardens. These gatherings build community cohesion. Beautifying and empowering others to grow their own food can bring people together. The Green Grounds website states there are 37 hellstrip gardens now installed.
There are many reasons why these forms of protests occur. Different groups can have different motivations. Some examples have already been mentioned such as 1) Economic; protesting urban decay, redlining, and financial neglect. 2) Food Sovereignty; growing food crops in food deserts. 3) Environmental resilience; planting a diverse group of plants can help capture Co2, reduce pollution, and promote biodiversity. 4) Community connections; the beautifying of communities can bring people together and promotes neighborhood cohesion. If you are considering this type of gardening, it is important to know the objective - what are you trying to accomplish? It’s important to know the laws in your town, city, or HOA and it is always advised to ask permission. Guerrilla protests are on the decline as community gardens become more popular, and towns and cities are providing more green spaces for residents.
Everyone has the right to green space. Everyone has the right to grow their own food. Gardening is a radical act.
Video: How Radical Gardeners Took Back NYC
Video: Ron Finley- A guerilla gardener in South Central LA
