For the first time in history, the majority of humans live in cities \u2014 spaces often defined by concrete, glass and a disconnect from the natural world. Access to nature is no longer guaranteed. <\/p>\n
In 2020, Miles founded Nature Is a Human Right, a campaign advocating for daily access to green spaces to be recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Frustrated by the slow pace of institutional change, Miles says she \u201clost faith in the top-down process.\u201d So she took matters into her own hands. Her weapon? Not protest banners or petitions, but seeds and shovels. <\/p>\n
She became a so-called guerrilla gardener \u2014 <\/strong>\u201cGrassroots planting in a public place, with a purpose,\u201d Miles explains. \u201cThink of it like graffiti, but with wildflowers instead of spray paint.\u201d This form of urban activism involves transforming neglected or overlooked spaces \u2014 cracks in pavements, roadside verges, abandoned lots \u2014 into mini-oases for people, pollinators and biodiversity. <\/p>\n What began during the Covid pandemic \u2014 when parks were shut and access to <\/strong>green space became scarce \u2014 grew into a weekly ritual. Miles and her neighbors would meet on Sunday mornings, armed with bulbs and trowels, planting in overlooked corners of the London Borough of Hackney. <\/p>\n In the UK, guerrilla gardening occupies a legal gray area: while planting on public land without permission is not technically lawful, authorities often turn a blind eye \u2014 so long as it doesn\u2019t cause damage, obstruction or a public nuisance. <\/p>\n According to the Royal Horticultural Society, guerrilla gardeners should ensure their planting doesn\u2019t inconvenience others and be careful to not restrict public access or create trip hazards. It\u2019s also important that anything planted is removable, and that the roots won\u2019t cause structural damage to sidewalks and buildings. <\/p>\n Guerrilla gardening dates back to the 1970s, when the Green Guerrillas, founded by Liz Christy in the US, transformed vacant lots into community gardens. The movement has since spread worldwide, from Ron Finley, the \u201cGangsta Gardener\u201d in Los Angeles, to Ta M\u00e8re Nature in France, and the Ujamaa Guerrilla Gardening Collective in South Africa. <\/p>\n Miles has brought the underground movement into the spotlight on TikTok and other social media. Her upbeat videos demystify the process, showing everything from creating seed bombs to planting moss graffiti \u2014 a form of street art where living moss is used to create patterns or words on walls. \u201cI wasn\u2019t a gardener. I was learning as I went along,\u201d she admits. \u201cBut I just wanted the streets to be greener.\u201d <\/p>\n As Miles\u2019 seeds grew, so did her online following. \u201cYoung people today are very awake to issues like climate change, inequality, and mental health,\u201d Miles says. \u201cGuerrilla gardening intersects with all of that. It\u2019s something you can do with your own two hands and see the impact immediately.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cA lot of activism can feel intangible,\u201d she adds. \u201cWith guerrilla gardening, you see the results. It\u2019s empowering.\u201d <\/p>\n And it\u2019s more than just symbolic: \u201cIt\u2019s been shown that having access to green spaces is as vital to your mental and physical health as regular exercise and a healthy diet,\u201d says Miles. \u201cWe need it around us. We need the phytoncides (compounds plants release into the air) that plants produce. The experience of having plants around us calms us.\u201d <\/p>\n A study of 20,000 participants by the UK\u2019s <\/strong>University of Exeter found that people who spent at least 120 minutes a week in green spaces reported significantly better physical health and psychological well-being than those who didn\u2019t. For young <\/strong>children, access to green spaces has been linked to reduced hyperactivity and improved attention spans. Communities can benefit too: a US study showed that greening vacant lots can lead to lower crime rates. <\/p>\n Miles\u2019 message is simple: anyone can get involved. \u201cIt\u2019s spring now,\u201d she continues. \u201cFind native wildflowers, scatter them when it\u2019s raining then you won\u2019t even have to water them.\u201d For those who want to go further, Miles has written a book on the subject and teaches a free four-week online course through the nonprofit Earthed, which has attracted over 300 participants. She advises gardening as a group \u2014 community is key. <\/p>\n Her vision is bold but refreshingly practical: \u201cWhy aren\u2019t all our sidewalks lined with hedges?\u201d says Miles. \u201cOur buildings could be covered in plants. Our rooftops and bus stops could be buzzing with flowers. It\u2019s a no-brainer.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For the first time in history, the majority of humans live in cities \u2014 spaces often defined by concrete, glass and a disconnect from the natural world. Access to nature is no longer guaranteed. In 2020, Miles founded Nature Is a Human Right, a campaign advocating for daily access to green spaces to be recognized…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} Guerrilla gardening<\/h2>\n