From the Editor
Guerilla Gardening: Beautifying Our Community Whether They Want it or Not
By Mark Fausz
Jul 23, 2008 - 10:24:02 AM

It’s sometimes easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission. Over the years, that has been the tactic that I have occasionally encouraged concerning community initiatives. When I was involved with the Chesterfield Center for the Arts Foundation (CCAF), we began the annual event called “Movies on the Lawn” in which we projected DVD movies on a screen in front of the Chester Library; the place where the arts center will be built. It was a free film festival just to promote the center.

All went well until last year, when it was more than suggested that the group should get permission to show the DVDs to the public. The CCAF paid the movie distributor over $300 to show two movies. That, combined with a rented movie screen and other expenses, broke the budget, and this year there were no movies on the lawn.

Two years ago when the Chester Community Association got to a point of being able to install a “Welcome to Chester” sign at the eastern border of what the county calls the Chester community, there were some in the group who wanted to put the sign in the Rt. 10 median near the Chester post office. VDOT requires a circuitous permit process and special breakaway posts, among other things, for any structure in its right-of-way. J.T. Morriss Funeral Home allowed the group to put the sign on their property. A lot easier, but not quite as effective as a nice sign right in the median.

Recently, I read about a movement that is picking up steam in cities from Los Angeles to London. It’s called “guerilla gardening.” Because getting permission is much more difficult and time-consuming, groups of community-minded folks have begun clandestine movements to beautify their local environment.

The informal groups plant flowers, bushes, and trees during the dark of night on publicly owned properties and right-of-ways that have not been cared for properly. From the simple task of pulling weeds to outright replanting public spaces, the intention of these guerillas is not to oust a government, but to enhance their hometown surroundings.

Richard Reynolds, the most reknowned guerilla gardener, defines the practice as “the cultivation of someone else’s land without permission. The word guerilla comes from the Spanish word for resistance or little war; these guys were local farmers defending their land, so we’re guerillas because we’re named after the original guerillas because we’re waging a war… and fight for our the land in our community.”

A recent Associated Press article on this special gardening technique stated that “getting approval to beautify public property can be cumbersome, so guerilla gardeners in cities worldwide take matters into their own dirt-caked hands.”

“We try not to let bureaucracy stand in the way,” says accountant Steven Coker, who maintains an unsanctioned garden across from his house near an exit of the Santa Monica Freeway in West Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Councilman Tom LaBonge says he supports guerilla gardening as long as people don’t present a safety hazard or impede traffic.

“I’m a guerilla gardener, but I’m mostly just a maintenance guy,” LaBonge says. “I pull weeds when I’m out walking. Everyone is welcome to do it. The city needs help.”

Another practice that is sprouting in some major cities is seed bombing. Seed bombs made from seeds, clay, and compost become a weapon of mass creation. The little seed bombs are tossed from car windows into vacant lots or along roadways that could use a little sprucing up. The seeds eventually germinate and voila, a colorful pleasant view.

As summer wears on and VDOT’s funding runs low, we are lucky if road right-of-way grass is cut, much less significantly maintained or enhanced. Weeds stand tall in areas where the right-of-way widens near bridges and interchanges. Chesterfield County’s Parks and Recreation Department does a good job on the county’s pocket or neighborhood parks, but their budget is stretched, to say the least. We could use some guerilla gardeners here.

When Centre St. in Chester was rebuilt as an entryway to the Chester Village Green, huge planting pots were placed along the sidewalk. They’re gone now; is there no one to tend to them? On the opposite side of Rt. 10 at Harrowgate, a planting area there grows with weeds each year. It’s unsure who is responsible for one of the most seen corners in Chester, but the Chester Garden Club has done their best to beautify the busy spot, much like the guerilla gardeners.

I like the term guerilla gardening: it has that “we can do what we want when the county offices are closed” appeal to it. I wonder what would happen if a group of guerilla gardeners were to plant fruit trees or flowers in one of our unkempt right-of-ways? What would police do if they saw them out at midnight, planting away? Would they lend their spotlight or would they load the back of the cruiser for a ride to the lockup? I want to think they would grab a shovel.

Guerilla gardening: It could catch on. Why, the next thing you know we might be planting community vegetable gardens and raising community chickens and… Well, the next thing you know more and more people may begin to care. Ya think?

mfausz@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421

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