Guerrilla Gardening

Overview
Guerrilla gardening is, in its basic form, a type of anarchic direct action where gardeners identify a disused, neglected or abandoned piece of land - which they do not own - and use it to grow either crops, flowering plants or to create wildlife areas. The aim is simple: to rescue land from perceived neglect or misuse and give it a fresh purpose.

Some guerrilla gardening activities are secretive and technically illegal, sometimes carried out under the cover of night. They can also be subversive and aimed at delivering a strong message to statutory authorities, such as the creation of wildflower gardens on barren roundabouts or where potholes in roads are filled with soil and planted with flowers.

The idea has spread throughout the world, with guerrilla gardening becoming particularly popular in urban areas. Here the desire to reclaim public space can range from 'seed bombing' - where a clay seed ball containing a mixture of clay soil, compost, seeds and water is thrown onto a patch of land inaccessible land - through to creating a whole community garden.

There are critics of guerrilla gardening. Some say that illegal activities which bypass legislation and official sanction should be discouraged. There is also criticism that guerrilla gardening is more about quick fixes and impact, rather than a meaningful solution to problems associated with land use.

However, one of the pioneers of guerrilla gardening in the UK, Richard Reynolds, said in a Daily Telegraph article in 2009, that he believed guerrilla gardening would continue to flourish as a result of the gloomy economic climate, particularly as people search for land to grow their own food.

"There is an increasing realisation that the focus on our personal betterment is not making us happy," he said. "Going out there and taking responsibility for a shared space with other people, on the other hand, can warm the soul."

Emerging Trend
Guerrilla gardening in general is a growing phenomenon. There is also a trend toward the activity becoming more open, encouraging communities to take action over their local environment. The idea here is to proactively create change to enhance the local environment in a way that will excite the attention and involvement of local people. In some cases, for example in Glasgow, local authorities who do not have the resources to revitalise every patch of bare earth in their jurisdiction are supporting guerrilla gardeners attempts to bring some colour to local neighbourhoods.

In some cases, guerrilla gardeners are carrying out their elicit activities in the hope that the improvements they are attempting will eventually lead to approval and support from landowners and other stakeholders.

This new spirit of co-operation is exemplified by the Pimp Your Pavement campaign, launched in London by Richard Reynolds (see above). He says on the Pimp Your Pavement website:  "This campaign will be a way of giving people, particularly newcomers, a very tangible objective – transforming a patch of pavement and taking back responsibility from the local authorities who have plenty of other things to be concerned with on our behalf. Pimp Your Pavement will be a more palatable way of inviting the authorities who are in charge of most of our pavements to participate in this grass roots enthusiasm. In cities around Europe (Zurich, Berlin, Amsterdam and to a much lesser extent London) I’ve seen how guerrilla gardening can change the authorities view of their responsibilities, and I’m keen that these examples are inspiration to encourage change in more places."

Examples

Leaf Street Community Garden
Leaf Street is an acre of land in Hulme, Manchester, England, that was once an urban street until turfed over by Manchester City Council. Local people, facilitated by Manchester Permaculture Group, took direct action in turning the site into a thriving community garden. There is more information via the Manchester Food Futures website

Glasgow Guerrilla Gardeners
Documents and supports all guerrilla gardening activity in Glasgow via the Glasgow Guerrilla Gardeners website and on its Facebook page

More information
GuerrillaGardening.org
Website created in October 2004 by Richard Reynolds as a blog of his solo guerrilla gardening outside Perronet House, a neglected council block in London district. GuerrillaGardening.org includes tips, links and thriving community boards.

Tips on Guerrilla Gardening
There are a number of websites, social networking groups and blogs where anyone interested in guerrilla gardening can find advice, including:
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4605708492
www.guerrillagardening.org/ggtips.html 
www.wikihow.com/Start-Guerilla-Gardening
www.actionaid.org.uk/102106/take_action.html

Publications
Richard Reynolds, UK guerrilla gardening pioneer, has written On Guerrilla Gardening, which describes and discusses activity in 30 different countries. The book is published by Bloomsbury Publishing.