Guerilla Gardening: The Green Revolution

Guerilla gardening is very important to urban areas that don’t have a lot of vegetation. This type of gardening provides new life to land that’s no longer cared for and adds beautiful color to the dull landscape. Many gardeners participate in this style of gardening not only to enhance the landscape, but to also grow food to nourish their communities. Some communities use guerilla gardening to survive and stay healthy because the areas they live in are known as ‘food deserts’. These ‘deserts’ occur when fresh fruit and vegetables are too hard to obtain, and people don’t have easy access to stores in their community. When guerilla gardeners do these projects most of the time, they don’t have permission by the city and their efforts could be deemed illegal by the law. That’s why this style of gardening is called ‘guerilla’ because it could possibly be breaking the law, but it’s for a cause that’s bigger than the consequences.

The themes that are present in the art of guerilla gardening include the nourishment it provides and the bond it creates within a community. This idea of growing your own food has been popular in communities where fresh produce is difficult to come by. Most of the produce is free which creates a healthier lifestyle for people that don’t have a lot of money to purchase these products and gives a healthy alternative to cheap/processed foods. Guerilla gardening has made it easier for less fortunate people to access organic food while spreading knowledge about the benefits of growing your own produce. This style of environmental art has benefited many communities that struggle with the supply of fresh produce and overall improved their quality of life.

The other theme that’s important to the art of guerilla gardening is the bond that it creates with people in a community. This bond is created through the countless hours of looking after plants together and creating something that has meaning to the world. When people in a community indulge in this environmental effort, knowledge of the practice is passed down generation to generation, creating new generations of guerilla gardeners. With this generational bond, communities will keep the tradition alive and spread their love of the environment to all aspects of their lives. This form of environmental art has brought many communities together and has created countless memories for everyone involved.

The three images are from a well know guerilla gardener Ron Finley, a.k.a. ‘The Gangsta Gardener’. He started his journey of creating environmental art back in 2010 in Los Angeles, CA. Finley started growing fresh fruits and vegetables right outside his home on a little strip of land. It was deemed illegal to plant these on the strip of land between the sidewalk and the curb, but Finely had the law changed by the city of Los Angeles. In his growing efforts of fixing the food desert in his own community and trying to persuade city officials, his efforts were still considered illegal under city code. This meant his project garden would have to be bought for $500,000 because the city was no longer supporting it. With the help of fundraising and natural food companies, Finley’s community garden was able to stay open. All in All, Finley started a movement to help fix the problems with nutrition in his own community, while being faced with many obstacles. He was able to overcome these obstacles with the support of his community and his ability to be selfless.

Guerilla gardening is an outstanding way to change communities for the better. It creates a form of environmental art that brightens up the landscape, while creating food that is beneficial to the community. This fresh produce is great for communities that are in food deserts and gives easy access to healthier food options. When people get involved in their community gardens, more and more people come together and create new friendships. These friendships help strengthen the community and gives people more motivation to keep doing what they’re doing. In the end, there will always be food insecurity, but if we can do something to help fight this issue, then we succeeded in our efforts.

https://ronfinley.com/