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The ‘neighborhood watch chief’ was filmed trying to dismantle a makeshift garden after he complained that it had been planted over a cricket pitch used by local children.
A ‘guerrilla’ vegetable patch was set up at St Lucia’s Playground, Brisbane on March 24, only for a woman to begin removing it with her bare hands days after a council compliance officer issued a notice to stop and clear the area.
In the 13-minute video, the woman says she has received “very few complaints” from concerned community members, and is there to check on the condition of the cricket pitch below the park.
Growing Forward, a community organization that grows food “on stolen land for those who need it,” claims to have built the garden on “common land” to help people self-organise, grow their own food and promote gardening.
Despite the group’s best intentions, several attempts have been made – including one by a local resident – to remove the park since it was built last week.
In the video, people try to stop the local, who claims they are simply checking out the cricket pitch below
A man sitting with his girlfriend saw the woman walking in the park picking up dirt, prompting the couple to approach her and start recording.
A local friend, whom onlookers refer to as Karen, asked why the couple started recording.
The man behind the camera replied, “Because I saw a lady kicking and taking things out of this garden.”
Within minutes, the resident also began filming the couple, who she said became aggressive even though she “didn’t touch a single plant.”
“The level of hostility is starting to go up and I think that’s really unfortunate,” she said.
“This is where the kids play cricket, and I’m checking the damage to the lawn—you’re ruining the cricket field.”
The man tells her that he has already recorded her kicking the plants before another defender of the lawn begins to impede the woman’s movements.
“Don’t push me, I have a spinal injury,” she said, before pointing to the friend she had come with.
Can you film this for me please?
“Because he got a little violent.”
As she continues to ramble around those protecting the park, they tell her to stop tearing up the shingle insulation saying she “shouldn’t have done this” with her spinal injuries.
“I’m just checking what damage you’ve already done,” said the woman, “because that’s a hot surface.”
This is a hot surface because they put some soil and weeds on it – and so as you can see the grass is starting to die.
“I brought this to our neighborhood wherever I come from.”
The man then claimed the resident was using racist “dog whistles”.
The others try to tell it is a community garden that everyone is supposed to share.
‘It’s not everyone’s garden,’ she replied, ’cause you’re using it for something no one here necessarily approves of.
Although Growing Forward did not obtain permission from the council before planting the garden, the group claims to have cooperated with the community.
The group wrote on Facebook: “This garden was created after the doors of the area were opened and published, and it was built with the help of the people who live in the surrounding streets.”
Despite the allegations, Walter Taylor’s advisor, James MacKay, said the group was asked to dismantle the park prior to the resident’s arrival.
Growing Forward creates ‘Guerrilla Gardens’ around Brisbane to help promote gardening and healthy eating
When the person who signed up started asking others if they had a battery on their phones because he was about to die, the local woman continued to defend the cricket pitch.
“Children from all over St Lucia walk a kilometer to keep in touch and play cricket here – this is their playground,” she says.
The St. Lucia community remained divided about the park, with some commenting on Facebook that although the group had good intentions, greater contact with locals could have averted confrontation.
Many agreed that the resident’s behavior was “embarrassing,” but some admitted that she was “holding on to the kids.”
Another commented: “It makes the children’s playground an unpleasant place.”
The woman herself took to Facebook to defend her actions saying she would have been happy to speak up, had it not been for the “ten-to-one ratio” she faced.
Growing Forward used the incident to raise awareness for a fundraiser aimed at building more “guerrilla gardens” in other Brisbane suburbs.
So far $4,250 of its $8,000 goal has been raised, with each park costing about $2,000 to create.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Queensland Police for comment.
Growing Forward used the incident to raise awareness for a fundraiser aimed at building more “guerrilla gardens” in other Brisbane suburbs
So far $4,250 of her $8,000 goal has been raised, with each park costing about $2,000 to create
St. Lucia Brisbane: Argument Erupts Over ‘Guerrilla’ Community Vegetable Patch By Growing Forward