Guerrilla Gardening

MANIFESTO

WE ARE FOR reclaiming urban land and assigning it a productive purpose. It is a quiet protest in response to our urban surrounds and the monoculture within, the dislocation of production and consumption, and environmental deterioration. This unsanctioned urban beautification is a form of graffiti, but we make no apology because it is creative rather than destructive.

The motives are a little bit political (land should not be left idle in times of global food insecurity), a little bit environmental (food that can be grown locally should not embody the transport related energy that it typically does just to reach the consumer) and a little bit aesthetic (there is no reason for beauty not to exist where it can).

We like sugar cane mulch, trips to the nursery and dirt - but we are not old and do not wear bucket hats. The tools of our trade are spades, watering cans and the cover of darkness.

WE ARE AGAINST agapanthus, box hedges and other miscellanea associated with horticultural homogeneity.

THE VISION

We dream of the day that apple trees line the streets, herb gardens are on every corner, produce can be picked as needed rather than bought in waste engendering quantities, and even that little triangle of woodchips by the roundabout has a burst of colour that makes people smile. We aim to eliminate wastage and unnecessary transport. We aim to build community engagement through urban harvests. We aim to live off the fat of the land.

THE FIVE WAYS PROJECT THUPDATE

TWO MONTHS ON

Well we've been lucky with the weather and the pumpkin vines are now making their way onto the roadway. The next task is to tuck the tendrils back inside the hedge for the avoidance of the destructive impulses of buses and council. Check back for details on the Harvest Festival and Win's Pumpkin Risotto Recipe.