City TV Interview

A couple weeks ago I did an interview with Norm LeBus from CityTv Calgary. I first met Norm last year when the Lethbridge Herald did a piece on the Boulevarden - at that point Norm was first back here and was taking photographs. He called me this summer looking to do a story this summer.

Here is the link
http://www.citytv.com/calgary/yourcity_60596.aspx

For Your City Norm LeBus

Backyard gardens are about feeding your soul through tilling soil as well as feeding your family. But in Lethbridge one woman's moved her plants front and centre, on civic property.

It's an intersection of art, acts of kindness and community activism. As a community garden planted on civic property without permission, it's also known as guerilla gardening.

Edwards' guerilla garden's now in its second summer, with drought-tolerant flowers, herbs, tomatoes, squashes growing. From the very first day it was evident the seeds Edwards was planting were the right ones

"Right from the first day we had soil coming in to create the garden the neighbourhood come out to help. So immediately, a community started," she recalls.
Edwards say the majority of feedback she gets is positive. But she's aware she's bending the rules
But in this instance city hall seems to be behind citizens acting unilaterally to essentially vandalize city property.

"We would insist that people do not cut down trees or do something of that nature, but as long as someone is willing to make the commitment to guerilla gardening, fine," mayor Bob Tarleck says.

So guerilla gardening is political on several levels. It's about the environmental cost of shipping groceries from foreign countries... and growing community through growing vegetables. http://www.citytv.com/calgary/yourcity_60596.aspx