| Local Content |
| Written by Robin |
| Wednesday, 09 July 2008 13:45 |
|
By Melanie Fast For the Sun Times Images of flowers and vegetables springing up in random locations across a city aren’t usually what one thinks of when they hear the word “guerrilla.” Guerrilla gardening, the act of gardening in a public space with or without permission and often in secret, is a popular worldwide political movement. “It’s a way of softening our cement,” says Loralee Edwards, member of a growing group of guerilla gardeners in Lethbridge, referring to how uncommon vegetation is in most cities. Edwards, who has always been involved in gardening and sharing, converted the boulevard in front of her house into a vegetable garden - aptly named the “boulevarden” by one of her neighbours. “It’s all about urban farming,” says Edwards. “It’s a community garden.” Edwards and her partner, Paul, began creating the boulevarden, which is city property, about a year ago as a summer art project. She grows herbs and vegetables in it and leaves signs to encourage neighbours and passersby to take what they need. Edwards says for some of her less-fortunate neighbours, it’s their only source of fresh vegetables. Keeping with their community attitude, the Edwards moved their deck to the front of their house so they could better interact with their neighbours. “We’ve met so many people doing this,” says Edwards says of their gardening activities. After developing her boulevard, Edwards spread her gardens to other areas of the city. One of her gardens, placed in a downtown park, was constructed in broad daylight with the help of passersby. After it was finished, Edwards left a sign asking people to help water it, hoping residents would get involved in the project. When she returned the next day, the soil was moist and the grass surrounding it was dry, meaning someone had specifically watered her garden. “It is funny how something so small . . . can make your heart smile,” writes Edwards in her online blog at http://lethbridgegg.blogspot.com. Edwards started the blog last year as a way to record her art project and has now expanded into daily writings of her gardening. As the garden and word of Edwards activities grew, so did the response from community members and neighbours. Edwards was on CBC Radio last summer talking about guerrilla gardening and what she does. She was upset when she received four negative comments on her blog claiming she was vandalizing city property after the show aired. The next day, Lethbridge Mayor Bob Tarleck visited Edwards’ house after hearing a few complaints himself. “Not only do I not have a problem with it, I’m widely excited about it,” Tarleck says of the work Edwards has done. Often, in other cities worldwide, guerrilla gardeners have been stopped by police and threatened with criminal charges, which is why many guerrilla gardeners do their work at night. Edwards does most of her work during the day and has never faced any problems from police although she jokes about “getting arrested for planting carrots.” Tarleck, quoting a Greek proverb from Aristotle in reference to guerrilla gardening and says “cities are built with stone, but civic pride is built with people.” He adds what Edwards is doing matches the dream he has for the city. “We want individuals to take personal ownership of the community. The gardens everywhere make the city a lot more fun and I love to see that.”He hopes the idea will catch on and other people will develop their own boulevardens or help develop them downtown. As long as gardeners take care to not hit utility lines or interfere with street signs, he “wants the community to be engaged in the community.” Aside from the few complaints, Edwards hasn’t had any problems with people destroying the gardens and people regularly drop off plants at her house for her to add to them. “Even if I had come back the next day (to the downtown garden) and it was gone, I’d do it all over,” says Edwards. “It’s all about the act of what we’re doing . . . just picking up a shovel with someone else.” She says through developing the garden she has spawned an idea of sharing among her friends and neighbours. Along with dropping off plants for her, they’ve also begun leaving baskets of their own extra vegetables on their lawns for others to take. Her neighbours, Richard and Marlene Burke, notice a lot of people stopping by the Edwards’ house to admire the boulevarden and even help explain its purpose. The two have even started their own boulevarden and are beginning to plant tomatoes in front of their house. “There’s definitely a lot of people in Lethbridge interested,” says Edwards. “Young people are particularly excited and are more readily involved.” Edwards also launched a group on Facebook for fellow guerrilla gardeners in Lethbridge. It started with six people last year and now has 52 members. Members of the group meet regularly to discuss upcoming projects, including a larger one soon to come. Edwards says they might have to work at night for their next project to avoid being seen. “We’re guerrillas in the mist,” she says with a laugh. Fellow guerrilla gardeners in the world have set up their own sites and Facebook groups to record their activities and an Internet search reveals how popular it really is. “There’s guerrilla gardens in Los Angeles where there’s no money and lots of crime,” says Edwards. “It’s a metaphor for change, growth and beauty.” In 2006, prisoners in Guantanamo Bay were even recorded to have created a primitive guerrilla garden on the grounds. They weren’t allowed tools of any sort so the prisoners used mop handles and plastic spoons to dig in the soil and then planted seeds they kept from fruits and vegetables they’d been served at meal time. “It feeds the soul. It’s so amazing,” says Edwards of the efforts. “The intent (of guerrilla gardening) is so pure. You’re beautifying places.” Anyone interested in helping Edwards out with her efforts can contact her through her blog. |
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