R a d i c a l l y claiming
space
Guerrilla Gardening through
gardening
Guerrilla Gardening Radically claiming space through gardening
Exploration of the evolution of geurrilla gardening in New York and the role women play.
By: Caitlin Paridy
Geurrilla Gardening: Radically Claiming Space
Fig 1. Liz Christy in Bowery Houston Community Garden, ca. 1974, ArteUtilie accessed August 4th, 2019, http://www.arte-util.org/ projects/green-guerrillas/
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ithin the 5 boroughs of New York in the 1970s, there were over 10,000 acres of vacant lots1. Areas left abandoned where buildings had been removed or failed to be constructed. Spaces that wouldn’t even suit a parking lot. This physical state of the city contradicted the various social forces pushing New York into the future. Amongst these forces were the Green Guerrillas, a social advocacy group whose primary purpose was to directly combat the urban decay in their city2. They were formed in 1973 by Liz Christy, a graduate from Columbia, New York University, and the New School with a focus on art, urban planning, botany, and landscaping3. 1 “How the East Village grew to have the most community gardens in the country,” Lucie Levine, last modified Sept. 19, 2018, https://www.6sqft.com/how-the-east-village-grew-to-havethe-most-community-gardens-in-the-country/ 2 “Our History,” Green Guerillas, last modified June 21, 2018, http://www.greenguerillas.org/history 3 “Elizabeth Christy,” Pioneer Information, The Cultural Landscape Foundation, last modified 2018, https://tclf.org/ pioneer/liz-christy
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Geurrilla Gardening: Radically Claiming Space
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sing this knowledge and motivation to streng community, the geurrillas started with small acts o greening�. They made seed green-aids filled with w and grasses, planted sunflowers in center medians, a flower boxes to abandoned buildings. Their ratio that these additions of beauty would make people abandoned spaces and begin to care for and improve them1. One of their landmark projects was the Bowery Houston Community Farm Garden. It started with donations from nurseries and stores and became one of the first official community gardens within the East Village2. Here was a place that was once totally abandoned and ugly but now served as a gathering place for people, who could volunteer their time and receive the benefits of fresh produce and being in nature. It is from these values that the term guerrilla gardening was officially coined.
1 “Our History,� Green Guerrillas, last modified June 21, 2018, http://www.greengueri 2 Ibid.
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gthen their of “radical wildflowers and added onale was notice the
Fig 2. Donald Loggins, Building Liz Christy Garden, Bowery and Houston Streets, ca. 1973, Creating Digital History at NYU, accessed August 4th, 2019. http:// creatingdigitalhistory.hosting.nyu.edu/fall2016/items/show/63.
illas.org/history
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Geurrilla Gardening: Radically Claiming Space
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uerrilla gardening is any act of gar
cultivator1, usually abandoned sites, public land neighbourhoods there are many areas which ar Guerrilla gardeners believe that if the property is with it, then it is their right to claim it and assign a purpose to the plot. It is a form of activism which radically reimagines the rights to public spaces for agricultural or aesthetic purposes2. For many, this action of reclaiming public spaces symbolizes even more - owning space for yourself and the community and using it for productive means like supplying fresh produce to a low-income neighbourhood, building connections between marginalized communities, and greening a space to reduce urban heat island. At its core, the action could be considered feminist and radical, as it originated from a woman in the 70s with limited legal rights.
1 “Guerilla Gardening Tips”, Guerrilla Gardening.org, last modified 2017, https://www.guerrillagardening.org/ggtips.html 2 “Our History,” Green Guerillas, last modified June 21, 2018, http:// www.greenguerillas.org/history
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rdening on land that is not legally owned by the
https://www.guerrillagardening.org/ggseedbombs.html
Fig 3. Green Guerrillas Instructions on Creating Seed Bombs, Gorilla Gardening.org, accessed August 4th, 2019,
d, or other private property. Around our cities and re simply left vacant or not properly maintained. s in the public sphere where others see and interact
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Geurrilla Gardening: Radically Claiming Space
This form of radical reclaim a privilege that many are n gardens are created by wom seem to be primarily male privilege to walk around fear of repercussions. It i more “serious� roles that the contributions of margi
Fig. 4 Kathryn Miller is an arti Southern California who makes bombs in her exhibits, ca. 1991-20
Miller, accessed August 5th, 2019, htt kathrynamiller.com/seedbombs.html
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ming of space, however, also requires not afforded. While many community men, self titled “guerrilla gardeners” e and often white, as a result of the abandoned or private land with no is also reflective of the “radical” or men claim for themselves, whereas inalized communities are viewed as lesser.
ist from s and uses seed
002, Kathryn ttp://www. l
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Geurrilla Gardening: Radically Claiming Space
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his unbalanced power distribution can be seen in almost all sectors, and gardening is no different. Historically and stereotypically, we have assumed that women were gatherers and men hunters. Over the centuries following, women were leaders in growing medicinal plants, dyes, and food gardens. This evolved during the 15th to 18th century, where gardens became increasingly linked to power and land1. No English gentleman would be complete without a large and immaculate landscape park, filled with exotic plants and objects from their grand tours around Europe. The garden became a prominent status symbol that would be passed down to 1 Bell, Susan Groag, “Women creating gardens in Male Landscapes,� Feminist Studies, 16, no.3 (Fall 1990), 471.
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male heirs to own, whereas women would be simply passing through and played no active role within the garden1.During the Victorian era however, they reclaimed the garden with the rise of the suffragette movement and growing concern over the industrialization of cities. This resulted in the garden becoming a symbol of community restoration and less about dominance2. Female empowerment through gardening carried on until WWII with Victory Gardens, where despite not being able to fight, women could still contribute to the cause by growing fresh produce for their homes and communities.
1 Ibid. 2 Ibid.
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Geurrilla Gardening: Radically Claiming Space
Fig 5. The height of mastering the garden as a gentleman’s passed time. The goal to create a lovely setting for women to stroll through. Frontispiece, The Lady’s Recreation, ca. 1707, From Charles Evelyn, The Lady’s Recreation Edition of 1717.
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Fig 6. Wave of female gardeners coinciding with suffragettes movement in England. A pupil at Lady Wolsely’s School for Lady Gardeners, ca. 1908, Frontispiece in Frances Wolsely, Gardening for Women (London: Cassell & Co., 1908).
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Geurrilla Gardening: Radically Claiming Space
Our dependence on gardens changed wi
stores and suburbs, forcing a wedge betwe origin. This has eventually resulted in food Penniman from Soul Fire Farm in New Y coined them: “food apartheid”. These zon fresh food are not naturally occurring socioeconomic and racial imbalances in c privilege that comes with f
1 Renata Blumberg, Rosa Huitzitzilin, Claudia Urdanivia and Brian C. Lorio, “Raices Del Sur: Cultivating E Nature Socialism, 29, no. 1, (Feb. 1, 2018): 58-69
own right, as not everyone can navigate spaces so inconspicuou New Jersey. Passaic is a post-industrial city located in the mid around New York. Over the years, the neighbourhood becam established roots in the community. Yet, healthy and affordab the neighbourhood was also unwelcoming for women and fam men to loiter. To reclaim the space for the community, a group advocating for a community garden. The goal of the garden w marginalized peoples2. They sought to grow a garden that se building alliances3. For three years, it flourished as a spot for location on public land, the garden was demolished. 1 Ibid. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid.
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In these communities, women are often leading the way to increasing food security for their neighbourhoods. Their works is not granted the title of guerrilla gardening because it might not be done on totally private land illegally, or secretly at Ecofeminist Visions in Urban New Jersey,” Capitalism night. However, they are just as radical in their usly. An example of this is the Raices Del Sur garden in Passaic, ddle of the transition from urban to suburban neighbourhoods me home to many immigrant families who settled down and ble foods1 became increasingly inaccessible. The main park in milies due to the sports field which became a place for many p of women and organizers self-titled “Raices del Sur”, began was to foster community, while also amplifying the voices of erved to further an “ecofeminist politics of counter planning”, r connections and local produce. Unfortunately, due to the its
ith the rise of grocery een us and our food’s d deserts, or as Leah York has more aptly nes of no affordable but as a result of communities and the food1.
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Geurrilla Gardening: Radically Claiming Space
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would argue this community garden is the definition of guerrilla gardening, even if it was not completed in a clandestine and illegal nature. These women were reclaiming their right to public space and programmed it in a way that suited the entire neighbourhood, just like Liz Christy and the Guerrilla Gardeners in the 70s. It is for this reason that guerilla gardening is in fact a feminist act. It is about creating equal access to everyone so that they can access basic rights, like enjoying nature for mental health benefits or supplying food for their families. It is unfortunate that over the years the radical nature of guerrilla gardening has resulted in adding a privileged layer to the activity, as the most vulnerable communities would benefit the most from this reclamation of public spaces.
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With an increasing knowledge of the benefits of gardening and fresh food paralleling the rise of social inequality, guerrilla gardening may enter a new renaissance and find its home in these food apartheids, serving to improve the lives of the communities who encourage it.
Fig 7. Liz Christy in Bowery Houston Community Garden, ca. 1974, The Cultural Landscape
Foundation, accessed August 5th, 2019, https://tclf.org/pioneer/liz-christy
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Geurrilla Gardening: Radically Claiming Space
Fig 8. My first act of Guerrilla Gardening in Ghent, Belgium. August, 2018.
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Geurrilla Gardening: Radically Claiming Space
Fig 9. Community tree planting event in Brantford Ontario, naturalizing an old field. April, 2019
Caitlin Paridy is an Architecture and Environmental Studies student at the University of Waterloo. She is interested in agriculture and the importance of food security for at risk communities, along with feminism and climate change. This is an independant essay. 22
All rights reserved to Caitlin Paridy
Caitlin Paridy
Bibliography Blumberg, Renata, Huitzitzilin, Rosa, Urdanivia, Claudia, and Brian C. Lorio. “Raices Del Sur: Cultivating Ecofeminist Visions in Urban New Jersey.” Capitalism Nature Socialism 29, no. 1, (Feb. 1, 2018): 58-68. https://doi.org/10.1080/10455752.2018.1428999 Bell, Susan Groag. “Women Create Gardens in Male Landscapes: A Revisionist Approach to Eighteenth-Century English Garden History.” Feminist Studies 16, no. 3, (Fall 1990): 471. The Cultural Landscape Foundation. “Elizabeth Christy.” Last modified Sept. 19, 2018. https://tclf.org/pioneer/liz-christy Green Guerillas. “Our History.” Last modified June 21, 2018. http:// www.greenguerillas.org/history Guerrilla Gardening.org. “Guerilla Gardening Tips.” Last modified 2017. https://www.guerrillagardening.org/ggtips.html Levine, Lucy. “How the East Village grew to have the most community gardens in the country.” Last modified Sept. 19, 2018. https://www.6sqft.com/how-the-east-village-grew-to-have-the-mostcommunity-gardens-in-the-country/
Figures Fig. 1 ArteUtilie. Accessed August 4th, 2019. http://www.arte-util.org/ projects/green-guerrillas/ Fig. 2 Digital History at NYU. Accessed August 4th, 2019. http:// creatingdigitalhistory.hosting.nyu.edu/fall2016/items/show/63. Fig. 3 Gorilla Gardening.org. Accessed August 4th, 2019. https://www. guerrillagardening.org/ggseedbombs.html Fig. 4 Kathryn Miller. Accessed August 5th, 2019. http://www. kathrynamiller.com/seedbombs.html Fig. 5 Evelyn, Charles. The Lady’s Recreation. Edition from 1717. Fig. 6 Wolsely, Frances. Gardening for Women. London: Cassell & Co., 1908) Fig. 7 The Cultural Landscape Foundation. Accessed August 5th, 2019. https://tclf.org/pioneer/liz-christy 23
Geurrilla Gardening: Radically Claiming Space