Gayle joins night garden guerrillas in latest eco-craze

Sep 28 2008 Gayle Ritchie

Eco Warriors Go Under Cover To Tidy Up

IT'S the latest eco-craze taking root in towns and cities across Scotland. Guerrilla Gardeners strike at night and wage war on overgrown eyesores. Here, GAYLE RITCHIE reports from the trenches.

GOING guerrilla gardening with a team of green-fingered do-gooders under cover of darkness in the heart of the city was a potentially risky business.

After all, I might be arrested or even mugged for my bulbs.

So I dressed in what I thought was appropriately scary get-up - army fatigues, a touch of cammy paint on the cheeks and forehead and a pair of bovver boots.

But as I walked through the city streets to meet the gang, I felt more foolish than frightening.

Armed with a trowel, gardening gloves and zero expert know-how, my mission was to navigate to a patch of neglected land at the back of Glasgow's Royal Infirmary.

I'd been told to look out for a woman in her early 30s in red wellies, a black bob and combat gear.

She was hard to miss.

Ripping out nettles and old shrubs from the eyesore patch alongside a path, Jennifer Calder cut an impressive figure.

Beads of sweat were pouring down the 33-year-old's head as she went about her business - and I was loathe to stop her.

Voluntary worker Jennifer wasted no time handing me a bag of bulbs - courtesy of Lidl - and told me to start digging.

So there I was grubbing in the mud on all fours when a gang of potentially aggressive teenagers strutted past.

But instead of hurtling insults, they yelled compliments.

They shouted: "You're doing a top job. Keep up the good work."

Positive feedback flooded in. Several little old ladies and a couple of drunks dished out gratitude like there was no tomorrow.

And so they should have. It wasn't costing them a penny.

Merchant City-based Jennifer said: "I walk past this area on my way to work and couldn't get over how grim and ugly it was.

"It's rundown, overgrown and you really don't feel safe walking through it."

Jennifer and her team began clearing the patch and planting pansies, roses, exotic grasses and shrubs in June.

They could be done for criminal damage, so their activities are clandestine affairs carried out under cover of darkness. Some nights they work on to 2am. The fact they are effectively gardening illegally does disturb Jennifer.

She said: "It would be pretty harsh if the authorities stopped us but the law on this is a bit of a grey area.

"The council gave us permission to work here for one night only. That simply wasn't enough.

"If there could be some change in the law it would take the worry out of things.

"More people would get on board and you'd definitely see vast improvements in neglected areas."

Admin worker Ewen Nicolson, 32, was next on the scene.

He said: "I like the idea that we're doing this surreptitiously.

"Technically speaking we're not meant to be gardening here but what we're doing is for the greater good, so it's easily justified.

"I had no gardening experience when I started this but it's pretty easy to stick in a few bulbs, rip out weeds and sow seeds."

Michael Gallacher, a 35-year-old IT worker from Dennistoun, reckons everyone should take more pride in their towns and cities. He said: "Glasgow is our dear green city. We should make the most of it.

"You often hear folk moaning about litter and mess but they always expect someone else to deal with it.

"It's amazing the difference a few people can make in a short space of time.

"In just one evening, you can clear a space of junk and make it look attractive."

Ewen Brown, another IT worker, comes to the city from Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, each week.

Ewen, 41, said: "The council cut the grass but it's a job half done.

"The Commonwealth Games are only a few years away so now is an ideal time to start caring about our environment and showing pride in Scotland."

To get involved with the undercover brigade, visit www.guerrillagardening.org

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