Subversive Gardener Celebrates Radical Gardening in New Video Series

NEW YORK, September 21, 2020 (Newswire.com) - ​The Subversive Gardener has launched a free video series on YouTube highlighting urban gardening practices. Each video offers a glimpse into the world of creative problem solvers and celebrates their efforts to make their communities more sustainable.

One such problem solver is Richard Reynolds, who began planting flowers secretly at night outside his tower block in South London nearly thirteen years ago. 

“I was frustrated with the vast amounts of vested land, just neglected, shabby, ugly,” explains Reynolds.

Since then, his guerrilla gardening efforts and those of his neighbors have transformed the neglected space in their neighborhood into a beautiful garden and community space.

Like Reynolds, Williamsburg-based resident Alix Kivlin and her fellow community members have turned a once-neglected space into the thriving communal area known as The Heckscher Foundation Children’s Garden. In this space, community members share garden plots, host events and workshops, and work to keep the garden free, open, and accessible.

Kivlin explains, “When the gates are open, they’re open to everyone.”

The Subversive Gardener’s video series also celebrates the work of small businesses, such as Missouri-based BakerCreek Seeds, and highlights their unique perspectives on urban agriculture and the solutions offered by heirloom seeds. 

“Every small region, every microclimate, there have been generations of gardeners who have been carefully saving seeds and adapting varieties to that specific climate,” explains Shannon McCabe, writer and farmer for Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. “Maybe you are a guerilla gardener and you’re trying to find a really drought tolerant tomato. Well, you can check out some of the varieties that we have saved from Syria and Iraq.”

Favored by some farmers for their role in sustainable food production, heirlooms can also be found in farm-to-table restaurants, guerilla gardens, and artisan food shops. Heatonist, a specialty hot sauce shop in North Brooklyn, grows a wide variety of heirloom chilli peppers in their test garden in order to sample different species prior to creating a hot sauce. 

“Anything that we really like next year could turn into a full crop of peppers at one of the farms that we work with around the country. It’s a great opportunity to test things that aren’t grown commercially and see if we can change that,” describes founder Noah Chamberg. 

The latest installment in the video series highlights the work of Dan McCollister, founder of the app, Cropswap. 

“Five years ago, I became obsessed with gardening, and while I was gardening, I noticed a problem. That problem is also an opportunity,” explains McCollister.

Citing the enormous waste of unsold produce in our grocery stores, McCollister decided to combat this issue by helping people to buy, sell, or simply share their overabundant produce within their local communities — all through their phones.

As McCollister quips, “You can bring people together with food.”

The Subversive Gardener is a non-profit organization that aims to educate and inspire individuals of all ages to develop creative design solutions to agricultural problems. Through workshops, showcases, and events, they connect individuals and communities who are facing challenges related to agriculture and food production with designers and engineers interested in creating tools and solutions that drive positive environmental impact.

###

If you would like more information, please contact Vanessa Harden at [email protected] or (718) 200-4755.

Source: The Subversive Gardener