Me and a friend decided to plant up our local graveyard wall with some Campanula plugs. Please excuse the laughter :)
Friday 5 August 2011
Thursday 4 August 2011
Fork The Law: Guerrilla Gardening in Ireland
Wish someone did something constructive with that abandoned, vacant site across the road? Watch this space.....
Guerrilla Gardening is quite simply, "Gardening on another persons land without their permission".
It is carried out on vacant, derelict sites, mostly in urban areas. Guerrilla gardening can lead to the establishment of community gardens for production, aesthetic and sensory purposes. Guerrilla gardening can also be used in forms of living art or "green graffiti".
But why is it done and what is the degree of success of this illegal activity in Ireland?
Guerrilla gardening has quite a rich history, with references to Gerard Winstanley of Great Britain and Johnny Appleseed in America in the 17th and 19th centuries, respectively. The most recent tide of Guerrilla Gardening, however, was started by Liz Christy and her "Green Guerrillas" in 1970's New York. In fact she coined the term, "Guerrilla Gardening".
Guerrilla Gardening takes form in many different activities and involves people from all walks of life; The hobby gardener, the artist, the ecologist and the curious. You can be as determined as you want and set up a community garden or as lazy as you want and simply toss a couple of seedbombs.
Guerrilla community gardens have proved to be a success here in Ireland, with two notable projects. These are, the now demised, Dolphin Barn community garden and the active South Circular Road community garden. The latter is more a legalized form of guerrilla gardening, with a lease of the land agreed with the owner, ST Salvage. The community garden is supported by local residents and donations from organizations (an example being the donation of veg plants from the 2007 Bloom showgarden "Agraria"). The community garden hosts workshops, teaching valuable skills to locals and invites artists and numerous charities, including survivors of Hiroshima, to visit the garden.
The guerrilla's weapon of choice (beside a trowel!) is the Seed Bomb. It is a small ball of clay, mixed with compost, pepper and seeds, in a ratio of five parts clay, two parts compost and one part seeds. The seed bombs are thrown into vacant lots, tree planters and wherever a spade won't reach. The clay protects the seeds from the impact and from being eaten by wildlife, the compost improving water retention and the pepper acting as a pest deterrent, to give the seedlings a head start. Seed bombs are also known as seed balls, seed grenades and "weapons of mass creation". Seed Bombs are cheap and effective, best results are achieved with wildflower, sunflower and nasturtium seeds
I myself have organized several seed bomb events, raising money for various causes. In March 2011, i organized "Weapons of Grass Construction" with several classmates at Senior College Dun Laoghaire. The wildflower seed we used was donated by Sandro Cafolla of Design by Nature. Our break even point was €15. We raised €180. We spent the day talking to students and educating them about the importance of wildflowers in urban spaces for wildlife. All the money raised was donated to Greystones Community Garden. The funds where used for the installation for a permaculture hedge/windbreak. I then organized further seed bomb events at the opening of my towns new creche and at the launch of a local arts network. At both i held a "make a seed bomb" workshop, which proved extremely popular. (The kids were slightly disappointed when they found out seed bombs don't actually explode!)
Seed bombs have also recently been used in a rather unique way. Mary Conroy, a masters student at Limerick School of Art and Design, created "Wildroutes". For her masters project, Mary decided to do an eco-art project and turned to guerrilla gardening. Hosting workshops, she makes maps and distributes them (with seed bombs) and the volunteers mark on the map locations where they have seed bombed and return them to Mary. Her aim is to engage the public with nature and to create green-way habitats in Limerick City.
Guerrilla gardening in Ireland has now even started receiving help from local authorities. Iziar Sarazola was weeding the strip of green along her housing estate on Clancy Strand in Limerick City. Across the road was the Limerick City Council offices. Iziar was soon confronted by the head of the Parks Department who had been watching her work! She informed Iziar what she was doing was illegal. After a back and forth over the rights and wrongs of what Itziar was doing, she was advised to apply to the council for funding for such work to be carried out. Out of this, the Limerick Biodiversity Network was born. Planting plans, with sustainable, low maintenance schemes are submitted to Limerick City Council, who then pay for the materials and install the schemes. The focus of the planting schemes is on biodiversity and low maintenance with the inclusion of wildflower grasses more so than the traditional ornamental, high maintenance schemes. Most of the work has taken place along Clancy Strand, but the hope is to expand over all of Limerick City.
Mary and Itziar's efforts have come under the wider umbrella of Green Limerick. A hub of various environmental organizations co-operating with one another and pushing for Limerick to become European sustainable city of the year in 2014.
Another guerrilla gardening group is Fed Up, based in Kinsale, Co. Cork. The group consists of artists, horticulturists and permaculturists, operating around Kinsale and Cork City. They take a unique approach to guerrilla gardening themselves. They use painted, recycled milk cartoons as planters. These planters are then potted up with edible plants such as Nasturtium, Thyme, Strawberries and Chives. The planters are attached to various street lights, telephone poles and road signs. The planters often resemble tribal like paintings and besides from being productive, they certainly are eye catching. The aim of the group is to turn urban areas into productive, edible food-scapes. Fed Up have held workshops at the Body & Soul and Electric Picnic festivals. 
While these efforts have more sustainable and wider goals at heart, other guerrilla gardening activities are just done for fun. They are often unsustainable and short lived. The best example of this is in Temple Bar, Dublin. Tampopo, a Guerrilla Gardener, decided to do something about the potholes in the cobblestones of Temple Bar.....and add some colour. They decided to plant up the potholes in Temple Bar! A better solution to standard council practice of dumping tarmac over the trademark cobblestones of Temple Bar. I know which of the two solutions i prefer.
Now, i believe it should be obvious at this stage that Guerrilla Gardening is illegal, no matter how beneficial it is. It counts as vandalism, littering and criminal damage. Abandoned public property tends to be easier to work with and will encounter less objection. The improvements made will also last longer. It may be worth looking into the arrangement of a lease to prolong the life of the guerrilla garden.
For guerrilla gardening to be successful, the right plant choices are necessary. As the majority of guerrilla gardens takes place in urban areas, chosen plant species must be able to deal with the physiological stresses of the urban environment. Plants with attributes such as soil binding, nitrogen fixing and removal of heavy metals should be chosen to make the site more hospitable and safe to plant life. The following is a list of power plants for guerrilla gardening.
Guerrilla gardening however can have negative effects. Damage to existing property, use of invasive alien species, lack of site insurance and accidents occurring on site. Veg production in guerrilla gardens must also be done with care. Heavy metals present in soils (and indeed fungicides present in timber sleepers) can leach into vegetables and cause untold sicknesses in those who consume them.
Many guerrilla gardeners use numerous tricks to avoid detection. Seed Bombs allow for a quick "Drive-By", with little chance of getting caught. Many guerrillas work at night, under the cover of darkness, in groups. It is advised to wear normal clothes, as garden work clothes tend to attract unwanted attention.
However, one particular guerrilla dons a high vis jacket and works in broad daylight, pretending to be conducting work for the local authority. No questions asked :)
I believe guerrilla gardeners should receive more support, as the Limerick Biodiversity Network has from Limerick City Council. Guerrilla gardening offers a unique opportunity to create a greater sense of ownership for communities, especially in urban areas. As shown with groups such as Fed Up and Wildroutes, the efforts of local guerrillas can create a unique, local identity. The benefits can be economic, ecological, aesthetic or social. Guerrilla gardeners can help maintain public planting schemes, saving council money and helping communities to integrate better. It can also have the secondary effects of lowering crime, vandalism and raising land value.
Fork the Law.
Lets plant some flowers ;)
Recommended Websites:
http://wildroutes.weebly.com/
http://www.guerrillagardening.org/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Guerrilla-Gardening-Ireland/102983883081342
http://beelimerick.blogspot.com/p/biodiversity-friendly-planting-scheme.html
http://southcirculargarden.blogspot.com/
http://www.wildflowers.ie/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fed-Up/132523856781695
Guerrilla Gardening is quite simply, "Gardening on another persons land without their permission".
It is carried out on vacant, derelict sites, mostly in urban areas. Guerrilla gardening can lead to the establishment of community gardens for production, aesthetic and sensory purposes. Guerrilla gardening can also be used in forms of living art or "green graffiti".
But why is it done and what is the degree of success of this illegal activity in Ireland?
Guerrilla gardening has quite a rich history, with references to Gerard Winstanley of Great Britain and Johnny Appleseed in America in the 17th and 19th centuries, respectively. The most recent tide of Guerrilla Gardening, however, was started by Liz Christy and her "Green Guerrillas" in 1970's New York. In fact she coined the term, "Guerrilla Gardening".
Guerrilla Gardening takes form in many different activities and involves people from all walks of life; The hobby gardener, the artist, the ecologist and the curious. You can be as determined as you want and set up a community garden or as lazy as you want and simply toss a couple of seedbombs.
Guerrilla community gardens have proved to be a success here in Ireland, with two notable projects. These are, the now demised, Dolphin Barn community garden and the active South Circular Road community garden. The latter is more a legalized form of guerrilla gardening, with a lease of the land agreed with the owner, ST Salvage. The community garden is supported by local residents and donations from organizations (an example being the donation of veg plants from the 2007 Bloom showgarden "Agraria"). The community garden hosts workshops, teaching valuable skills to locals and invites artists and numerous charities, including survivors of Hiroshima, to visit the garden.
The guerrilla's weapon of choice (beside a trowel!) is the Seed Bomb. It is a small ball of clay, mixed with compost, pepper and seeds, in a ratio of five parts clay, two parts compost and one part seeds. The seed bombs are thrown into vacant lots, tree planters and wherever a spade won't reach. The clay protects the seeds from the impact and from being eaten by wildlife, the compost improving water retention and the pepper acting as a pest deterrent, to give the seedlings a head start. Seed bombs are also known as seed balls, seed grenades and "weapons of mass creation". Seed Bombs are cheap and effective, best results are achieved with wildflower, sunflower and nasturtium seeds
Guerrilla gardening in Ireland has now even started receiving help from local authorities. Iziar Sarazola was weeding the strip of green along her housing estate on Clancy Strand in Limerick City. Across the road was the Limerick City Council offices. Iziar was soon confronted by the head of the Parks Department who had been watching her work! She informed Iziar what she was doing was illegal. After a back and forth over the rights and wrongs of what Itziar was doing, she was advised to apply to the council for funding for such work to be carried out. Out of this, the Limerick Biodiversity Network was born. Planting plans, with sustainable, low maintenance schemes are submitted to Limerick City Council, who then pay for the materials and install the schemes. The focus of the planting schemes is on biodiversity and low maintenance with the inclusion of wildflower grasses more so than the traditional ornamental, high maintenance schemes. Most of the work has taken place along Clancy Strand, but the hope is to expand over all of Limerick City.
Mary and Itziar's efforts have come under the wider umbrella of Green Limerick. A hub of various environmental organizations co-operating with one another and pushing for Limerick to become European sustainable city of the year in 2014.
Another guerrilla gardening group is Fed Up, based in Kinsale, Co. Cork. The group consists of artists, horticulturists and permaculturists, operating around Kinsale and Cork City. They take a unique approach to guerrilla gardening themselves. They use painted, recycled milk cartoons as planters. These planters are then potted up with edible plants such as Nasturtium, Thyme, Strawberries and Chives. The planters are attached to various street lights, telephone poles and road signs. The planters often resemble tribal like paintings and besides from being productive, they certainly are eye catching. The aim of the group is to turn urban areas into productive, edible food-scapes. Fed Up have held workshops at the Body & Soul and Electric Picnic festivals. 
While these efforts have more sustainable and wider goals at heart, other guerrilla gardening activities are just done for fun. They are often unsustainable and short lived. The best example of this is in Temple Bar, Dublin. Tampopo, a Guerrilla Gardener, decided to do something about the potholes in the cobblestones of Temple Bar.....and add some colour. They decided to plant up the potholes in Temple Bar! A better solution to standard council practice of dumping tarmac over the trademark cobblestones of Temple Bar. I know which of the two solutions i prefer.
Now, i believe it should be obvious at this stage that Guerrilla Gardening is illegal, no matter how beneficial it is. It counts as vandalism, littering and criminal damage. Abandoned public property tends to be easier to work with and will encounter less objection. The improvements made will also last longer. It may be worth looking into the arrangement of a lease to prolong the life of the guerrilla garden.
For guerrilla gardening to be successful, the right plant choices are necessary. As the majority of guerrilla gardens takes place in urban areas, chosen plant species must be able to deal with the physiological stresses of the urban environment. Plants with attributes such as soil binding, nitrogen fixing and removal of heavy metals should be chosen to make the site more hospitable and safe to plant life. The following is a list of power plants for guerrilla gardening.
- Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
- Poppy (Papaver somniferum)
- Sunflower (Helianthus annus)
- Potatoe (Solanum tuberosum)
- Apple (Malus domestica)
- Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia "Hidcote")
- Sweet Pea (Lathyrus odoratus)
- Blueberry (Vaccinium Species)
- Heather (Erica carnea)
Guerrilla gardening however can have negative effects. Damage to existing property, use of invasive alien species, lack of site insurance and accidents occurring on site. Veg production in guerrilla gardens must also be done with care. Heavy metals present in soils (and indeed fungicides present in timber sleepers) can leach into vegetables and cause untold sicknesses in those who consume them.
Many guerrilla gardeners use numerous tricks to avoid detection. Seed Bombs allow for a quick "Drive-By", with little chance of getting caught. Many guerrillas work at night, under the cover of darkness, in groups. It is advised to wear normal clothes, as garden work clothes tend to attract unwanted attention.
However, one particular guerrilla dons a high vis jacket and works in broad daylight, pretending to be conducting work for the local authority. No questions asked :)
I believe guerrilla gardeners should receive more support, as the Limerick Biodiversity Network has from Limerick City Council. Guerrilla gardening offers a unique opportunity to create a greater sense of ownership for communities, especially in urban areas. As shown with groups such as Fed Up and Wildroutes, the efforts of local guerrillas can create a unique, local identity. The benefits can be economic, ecological, aesthetic or social. Guerrilla gardeners can help maintain public planting schemes, saving council money and helping communities to integrate better. It can also have the secondary effects of lowering crime, vandalism and raising land value.
Fork the Law.
Lets plant some flowers ;)
Recommended Websites:
http://wildroutes.weebly.com/
http://www.guerrillagardening.org/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Guerrilla-Gardening-Ireland/102983883081342
http://beelimerick.blogspot.com/p/biodiversity-friendly-planting-scheme.html
http://southcirculargarden.blogspot.com/
http://www.wildflowers.ie/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fed-Up/132523856781695
Peat: Can We Break The Habit?
Peat is a substance that the horticultural industry has come to depend on. Nurseries, garden centres, landscapers and hobby gardeners alike, we are addicted to peat.
In this article, Joe Clancy examines the importance of peat, the consequences of its use, the alternatives and the likely-hood of the industry abandoning its favorite growing medium
Peat was first introduced to commercial horticulture in the 1930’s to Europe and was chosen for use in compost mixes because of its light weight and its high water retention properties. Peat's main physical properties are its high air porosity, low bulk density and high water retention qualities (peat is 95% water before being cut). It's air filled porosity attribute is important for good air flow to be present and also to allow good root penetration in the soil. Peat’s fertility level is relatively low requiring the addition of nutrients and is also a sterile source of growing media that inhibits pathogens dangerous to plants. But because of peat’s low level of nutrients and pH it can be amended to suit the growers need with the addition of fertiliser and lime. This gives peat, as a growing medium, a wide range of applications for plants.
Yet, peat is a finite, non-renewable resource taking thousands of years to form. Although its use in horticulture is not solely to blame for dwindling resources (peat reserves have been lost due to natural factors, building, intensive agriculture and also its use as an energy source), the horticultural industry is responsible for consuming twice as much peat used for energy purposes. While there are massive reserves of peat in the Baltic countries, these are unsuitable for industry use because of their immature chemical and physical properties. But extraction continues, as peat is also big business. For example, according to their 2007/2008 annual report, Bord na Mona made a turnover of 371.2 million euro.
The prolific scale and rate of peat extraction has seen many peatlands destroyed. Only 6% of Britain’s original lowland peat bogs remain, of which, only up to 5,000Ha are still in good condition. Low lying raised bogs are a diverse habitat of plants and animals that have adapted to that environment. As mentioned by Professor Valerie Hall, speaking at the Botanical Gardens in Dublin 2008, irreversible damage has been done to most bog land habitats, as invasive alien plant species (Gunnera tinctoria) are now thriving on peat lands where the upper surface of the peat have been cut. According to Flora Hibernica, 92 per cent of bog lands have been destroyed in Ireland and the remaining intact 8 per cent makes up 51 per cent of all bog land remaining in Europe.
Peat extraction was to be banned in the U.K. by 2012, as part of the 1997 Biodiversity Action Plan (this was later abandoned due to the economic downturn), and a number of organisations such as the National Trust and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) organized campaigns pushing the public to be 90% peat free by 2010. In fact the RHS bans the use of peat at its flower shows and gardens. Many peat lands are now protected further restricting harvesting and raising the cost of peat, making alternatives more viable. Corporate Social Responsibility programmes on peat reduction, run by many retailers, are now giving customers better choice of peat alternatives.
Various trials, such as the RHS at Wisley have proven comparable results to peat with the use of coir, a peat-free growing medium by-product of coconut husks. Studies on the physical and chemical properties of coir have shown that it has better water retention abilities, higher air porosity and better drainage than peat. Also, amendments to reduced peat products, a product comprised with 50% peat to install confidence in the customer of its capabilities, acted as a stepping stone to peat free products. Possessing much of the same chemical properties as peat, but has less feeding requirements, for example, the addition of lime to raise pH. With additions of loam, levels of drainage qualities and organic matter increase along with the media’s buffering capacity.
There is a severe lack of conclusive evidence comparing peat, peat reduced, and peat alternative products, along with their effects on germination, to each other. Further conclusive testing over a broad range of plant species is needed to address the viability of peat free growing media.
There is a severe lack of conclusive evidence comparing peat, peat reduced, and peat alternative products, along with their effects on germination, to each other. Further conclusive testing over a broad range of plant species is needed to address the viability of peat free growing media.
In my own experience (my thesis was an investigation into the effects on seed germination using peat alternatives), Coir, a by-product of coconut husks, is quite an exceptional growing medium. I observed equal growth in comparison to plant species in full peat growing medium and recorded no incidences of capping, scorching or stunted growth. It has three times the water holding capacity of peat and comes from a cheap, renewable, unwanted waste by-product. Its water retention capabilities alone would allow for huge savings for nurseries dealing with water charges. However, it has poor nutrient retention and is unsustainable due to the fact that it must be imported, mostly from Sri Lanka, attaching a large carbon footprint to its use.
Other alternatives include green compost (grass clipping, leaves, garden waste) and pine bark. Pine bark has been found to be only effective when mixed partially with peat and it tends to make nitrogen unavailable to plants. While green compost tends to increase pH levels and can have varying chemical properties due to fluctuations in its composition's sources. Another player on the scene is wood fibre. Made from wood chips and by-products of the forestry industry, this growing medium has excellent nutrient retention, but is rarely used on its own as a growing medium.
Peat alternatives have come a long way in recent years, with ericaceous peat free compost entering the market, filling the void and answering one of peat free composts strongest criticisms of not being able to sustain acid loving plants (the majority of peat alternatives being alkaline in nature). This growing media uses composted pine needles and bracken.
Peat has long been established as the number one choice of gardeners for growing medium for the better part of a century. With its impressive track record, physical and chemical properties, horticulturalists, amateur gardeners and nursery stock growers are wary to try unproven methods and media. Trials carried out on reduced peat products and peat free products in the past that reported terrible results, compared to peat, furthered scepticism of reduced peat and peat-free growing media.
One thing the peat alternative skeptic should remember: PEAT ALTERNATIVES SHOULD NOT BE TREATED LIKE PEAT!
Poor education and mismanagement are responsible for the majority of bad press on peat alternatives. Trials conducted by the RHS have shown that each peat alternative has a narrow range of plants it can sustain successfully, with some mediums being very plant specific. Each alternative also has quite different feeding requirements, due to varying nutrient retention capabilities (Cation Exchange Capacity Levels). Problems such as unsuitable pH (improper management of composting) and over-watering (easily happens with coir) are usually the fault of the grower, not the growing medium.
With all this in mind, it is clear.....
More research is needed for a new growing medium that is cheap, readily available and as effective as peat. But a leap of faith is needed by many nursery growers in this country. However, many have already taken this step, but more can be done to promote the large scale use of peat alternatives in Ireland. It might be worth taking a note from the RHS and banning the use of peat products at Bloom to bring wider attention to the issue.
.....and for all the nay sayers who don't believe we can break the habit and embrace peat free alternatives, bear this in mind...
.....and for all the nay sayers who don't believe we can break the habit and embrace peat free alternatives, bear this in mind...
.....it took several decades for peat to be accepted as a growing medium by horticulturists in Europe............and look at us now.
Joe Clancy
BSc. Horticulture
HND Landscape Design
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