SOUND

Feeling like spray paint isn’t your way of making a public statement? Hankering for a sense of community ownership in your neighborhood? Have a few geraniums and petunias that need some space to grow? Consider guerrilla gardening.

Guerrilla gardening has been defined as vandalizing public space with natural beauty:  spaces of neglected public property, usually in an urban setting, are beautified by individuals or groups of people. Some gardeners plant vegetables as a way to expand local food security. Others, like in the downtown Eastside of Vancouver, do it to provide beauty to people struggling with addictions. The term “guerrilla” derives from the fact that people do it without seeking permission from city hall or other government agencies. Instead, individuals simply descend on a neglected area, clean it up, plant some seeds, and return periodically to tend and water.

1. Pick the site. It should be one that you pass by on a regular basis. Otherwise, it will be difficult to tend to and water. As well, since you’ve put the time in to beautify the site, you get to enjoy it if you go by regularly.

2. Decide if you want to garden solo or in a group. Solo gives you more flexibility, but more work. The advantage of a group is that you can accomplish a lot quickly. It also builds community.

3. Decide what level of commitment you are able to offer. All gardens need care.  Plant annuals if you don’t know if you’ll be around next year to tend the garden or consider planting native or drought tolerant plants

Does Kamloops, 2004 City in Bloom Champion really need guerrilla gardeners? Well, of course, just look around. Here are few places to consider:

1.Your back alley. I regularly weed the wild spaces along back alleys in my neighborhood and plant drought tolerant seeds like batchelor buttons and sunflowers.

2. Victoria Street & 11th: a little plaza with a flagpole and plaque commemorates the past location of the Legion. Could this be the future site of a peace memorial park?

3. The maze of streets off Tranquille between Surplus Herby’s and Cowboy Coffee as well as the empty lots along Tranquille. These provide a wealth of opportunities. Also consider planting in the unused boxes on the slopes behind Pine Grove Care Facility at the corner of Wilson and Clapperton.

ACTION: Next time you go for a walk, carry a pocket full of sunflower seeds and a hand clipper, and plant a little garden on the way.

Article by Nancy Bepple
June 2006, SOUND (Kamloops)