%20visitberlin%2C%20dagmar%20schwelle.jpg "The Guerrilla Gardener: How to Make Your Neighborhood Greener Without the Hassle")
When Richard Reynolds began gardening on the streets of London, he was so afraid of being arrested that he worked in the dark. Reynolds was one of the UK's first modern guerrilla gardeners, a movement that encourages people to maintain and revive land they have no legal right to work on.
Gardening generally provides physical and mental health benefits. However, one in eight British families does not have access to a garden or outdoor space.
This problem is particularly pronounced among city dwellers, ethnic minorities and young people. A survey conducted in England in 2021 found that young people aged 16 to 24 were twice as likely as those over 65 to not have access to a garden or allotment.
This article is part of Quarter Life , a series about issues that affect us in our 20s and 30s. From the challenges of starting a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, getting a pet or simply making friends as adults. The articles in this series examine questions and provide answers during this tumultuous time in life.
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Guerrilla gardening is a particularly good option for these groups of people. This can be as simple as planting herbs or vegetables, planting seeds or herbs, removing weeds, or picking up trash for the entire community.
However, if you are considering becoming a guerrilla gardener, it is important to know your rights. Can you get arrested for this? And do we have to wait until the evening?
Can we be judged?
It is important to remember that much of the unused or derelict land suitable for guerrilla gardening in British cities is owned by local authorities. The most common examples of such places are broken pavements with missing tiles, resurfacing of areas and traffic islands at roundabouts.
Although most of these lands are already open to the public, it would be remiss to leave active gardening there.
The law of courage is terrible. However, gardening on this land would be a civil offense and not a crime. This means that most guerrilla gardeners are unlikely to receive a fine or criminal record.
Landowners have the legal right to use “reasonable force” to remove trespassers from their land. But fortunately, most municipalities appear to have ignored guerrilla gardeners, having neither the time, money, nor inclination to take legal action against them.
Colchester Council, for example, has failed to uncover the identity of "Human Bush", a mysterious conservationist who, in 2009, restored flowers in the town's abandoned gardens. The tree returned in 2015 and sent a gift of seeds to the council.
Elsewhere in the UK, the work of guerilla gardeners has been met with caution by local authorities. In Salford, a city in Greater Manchester, there is a formal requirement to apply and obtain permission to grow on open land within the city. However, local authorities generally do not intervene in areas of illegal cultivation.
There seems to be an unwritten acceptance that people can garden wherever they want, given the abundance of available space and lack of active maintenance. This also has the added benefit of saving local authorities time and money.
However, you should be careful where you spend. In some areas, guerrilla gardening can attract unwanted attention. For example, during the 2000 May Day riots, guerrilla gardeners were accused of planting cannabis seeds in Parliament Square in central London.
Gardening at night can also attract bad attention, especially if you are carrying gardening tools that police might interpret as threatening weapons.
How to get started?
There are many types of guerrilla gardening you can get involved in, from planting native plant species to benefit pollinators and other wildlife to clearing deserts to create safer places for the local community.
One of the simplest forms of guerrilla gardening is planting seeds. Some environmental projects distribute "seed bombs" and others use biodegradable "seed balloons" that are filled with helium and inflated after a day, scattering the seeds into the air.
Whatever you do, as a guerrilla gardener you must not harm the environment or ruin others' enjoyment of the surrounding space. Remember that scrub and desert also have an environmental value. And think carefully about which species you want to plant to protect local plant and animal life.
The species most attractive to humans may not provide the best habitat or food for wildlife. Some may crowd out native plants and drive them to extinction. The law prohibits the cultivation of certain harmful, invasive or poisonous species, such as ragwort, knotweed or Himalayan balsam.
However, some guerrilla gardeners have used social media to organize “balsam blast” events where people come together to eradicate this noxious, invasive plant.
Guerrilla gardening takes many forms and can bring great benefits to people and the environment. You are unlikely to be arrested for planting and cultivating trees and other green spaces in public places. Remember, however, that these spaces must be shared with everyone, including local wildlife.
