A message from Will Snyder of Tricycle Gardens:
I went to water one of our orchards at 1410 North 32nd Street. Well, there was nothing left to water because every tree had been uprooted and piled at the back of the property. That’s 34 heirloom fruit trees–apples, pears, pomegranates and figs–ready to be firewood. While Tricycle Gardens has endured only a couple of small acts of vandalism in the past, nothing at this scale has ever happened and we’re devastated by it. Not only did this orchard cost upwards of $2,000, it also utilized almost 200 hours of volunteer time this summer to keep it maintained. So I wanted to get the word out on CHPN to help us solve the crime and to also share ideas about next steps. Should we replant on the site? Pack our bags and look for another orchard? We welcome any and all thoughts.
I don’t want to end on a down note. Our other orchard, at 1626 N 27th Street, will be the site of the Church Hill Central Civic Association’s picnic next Monday at 7pm. Stop by and check out the healthy, fruit-laden trees.
45 comments
This is terrible! Shame on them!!
Who the hell would do something like this? What a shitty thing to do. It’s sad how people vandalize things around here. One of our neighbors planted some trees in tree wells on 23rd a couple years back and we left the house one morning and someone had vandalized the tree in our well. Completely ripped it to shreds. There is no excuse for this type of behavior.
It’s almost as if some people don’t even want their own neighborhood to get nicer! This makes no sense!
But thank you to Tricycle Gardens for all they are doing to beautify vacant lots. They are really valued by most people in this neighborhood.
The odd thing is they went to the trouble of stacking them. Why bother doing that in an act of vandalism?
Perhaps they can be saved?
Sorry it happened.
Time to move your operation.
I am so sorry this happened. It is discourging, but don’t let these vandals run you out of the neighborhood. Replant!! Church Hill supports you!
This is far worse than the vandalism of the Chimbo Community Garden last summer. I wasn’t able to attend the planting of either orchard so I would love to help replant…
I’m with Libby Hill. Strange.
Somebody in the neighborhood who didn’t like what you were doing, but didn’t want to leave a mess?
What a jackass. Why waste your time ruining the good works of others. If you have nothing better to do with your life, that’s pretty sad.
I’d be glad to volunteer to help replant if you decide to do so.
Do you think it’s possible someone might be thinking they can use the land for something else if they cleared it off? The piling of trees seems very odd if the intent was vandalism. That seems more like what someone intending to squat on the land might do.
Also, are none of the trees salvageable? I would think if they had only been out of the ground for a little while, some might be able to be saved if they were replanted.
I’m really sorry for the loss of your orchard. I think you should replant and I’m wiling to help. If you move because of this, it’s like letting the vandals win. I just don’t get the kind of person who could do something so malicious – they are certainly not “right” in the head. It must have taken hours of brute force to pull all those trees up. Did any of the neighbors see anything?
Replant. I missed the original planting and would like to help with the replanting. Maybe some additional out reach to the surrounding neighbors is needed. Maybe fliers should be distributed explaining what the orchard is and who planted it and why and who to contact if there is a problem. And maybe signage explaining the same on the street sides of the orchard.
I agree with #11 and #6 – don’t move!
Since the trees were stacked it makes me think that someone was planning on coming back for them, possibly to sell for firewood. In any event, how horrible. Replant, and if you don’t mind a black thumb among you I’ll be happy to help.
That’s pretty f’d up. Hard for us to understand the sick little human(s) so full of hatred for themselves that all they can do is destroy something of value for the community.
Unfortunately, when you’re on the fringe up here in the hood, shit like this happens more often than we like to publicize. Many of us (especially pioneers,) will privately attest to all the crazy theft/vandalism that’s happened to us/our property over the years. But we don’t like to perpetuate the East End stigma, so we don’t talk about it much with the media, real estate agents, or visiting friends/relatives.
But Will, you can’t leave…you just have to replant/rebuild. Hate to say it, but it’s kinda like livin’ in a reality tv show up here where you have to “outlive, outpray, outlast”.
The good people will outlast, the punk-ass thugs move on (cause they lazy and can’t keep up ‘wid da good folk workin hard to make dis a nice place to live.)
#12 Brad is right on. Replant, and educate. The Chimbo Community Garden had issues last year (its first full year), but not so much this year. I think a great deal of this can be put down to diplomatic efforts and neighborliness. Once people started thinking of the garden as a community project, instead of someone’s private venture, neighbors started looking out for one another and vandalism went way down. I also think that vandals often target things that are “new,” but they wouldn’t necessarily mess with them again. Please replant your trees – look how many of us want to help! – and I bet next year will be better.
Make a sick bed for them and get them back in the ground. Most are probably just in shock and can be revived.
REPLANT!
#17 is right. We are all in shock, but the orchard must survive. Tell us how to help.
What a depressing note to find on my first visit to CHPN … but the heartwarming side is to read of your vibrant community full of volunteers who created such a garden. There are misguided, jealous, mean people everywhere – you can’t avoid them, but those who would follow that path will learn of your class, resolve and caring when you recreate this treasure. Will there be a way for others to help?
Love #15’s comment: “outlive, outpray, outlast” survivor, Church Hill style!
Talking to the neighbors sounds like a great idea, and I agree with #12 about the signage.
If the street lighting is poor, I would ask the city if they’ll install another street light. Also, if the cost isn’t prohibitive I would install a wild life camera, to catch any vandals in the future.
The situation sucks, but don’t give up. On my street, I had someone try to pull up a newly planted tree (it luckily survived) and have had a lot of plant theft (luckily we know who’s doing it now and it shouldn’t happen again). The community is here to support you – just let us know how we can help.
Are you completely sure they can’t be saved? I’d give it a shot. If they’re past saving, then I say replant. I’ll volunteer to help. I’d also contact local broadcast news to let them know what happened, might be a good human interest story for the noon news and help get the word out about the good work you’re doing. I’d go around and ask neighbors if they’re familiar with your objectives and if they saw anything–at least then they’d know to look out for those trees in the future.
We drove by tonight to see where the orchard was. I’m not sure it wouldn’t be a good idea to consider a better location. The house across the street had a bunch of busted windows, it’s right next to an abandoned school (also with broken windows), there’s a woods filled with beer bottles adjacent, and there doesn’t look to be good lighting. I hate to see vandals win but this is a shitty spot to plant. Some folks near here seem to be getting a lot of kicks from wrecking anything nice.
That said, I’m in if you decide to replant.
anarchists!
What a sad story. Please contact us if/when you decide to rebuild. We would like to help donate whatever you need be it money, volunteer time, and/or new trees. We’d love to come out for a weekend to help get things back up and running quickly. Good luck and keep us posted!
via nbc12:
via wric8:
I think the TV news and assignment editors should be grateful to you since they obviously are getting their story ideas from reading CHPN.
They’re cool about giving credit. A lot of times when they’re looking further into something that I’ve posted, they’ll contact me for a quote or contact info for someone. I’m glad to see them help to get the stories out to a wider audience.
Brad and CM,
Thanks for posting your positive comments. Very cool to see someone offer constructive suggestions on how to respond to this really crappy act of vandalism.
Elaine,
While I understand and appreciate your frustrations with the theft and property damage that happens “on the fringe up here in the hood,” you might want to reconsider dubbing yourself a “pioneer.” Plenty of people (multiple generations, of different class and race) have resided in Church Hill prior to your arrival, so you might want to tone down the manifest destiny-speak. Also, you might want to reconsider using language like you used in your last remark. It may spice up a Faulkner novel, but it adds no value to the conversation on this blog.
Well said Mackie.
Mackie,
“(multiple generations, of different class and race) have resided in Church Hill prior to your arrival”
Well, those people certainly let their neighborhoods go down the toilet. They should be embarrassed, not a proud “pioneer”.
Please define for the rest of us, Mackie, what is a “pioneer” of Church Hill, and how long we have to live here to receive that designation/denigration?
While what happened to those trees is sad, it is hardly surprising. Look at the neighborhood. The lot is hidden. Vandalism is rampant. Litter abounds. A good deed that got punished.
Kaykay,
I referred to those multiple generations of different race and class as residents of the neighborhood. “Embarrassed not proud pioneers” is your creation.
Calling yourself a pioneer, especially in today’s era of gentrification, smacks of self-righteousness. And making comments about “outlasting and outliving” other people won’t help Church Hill solve its problems.
is there any chance that someone dug these up trying to clear the lot to make it look better, as opposed to “looking overgrown.”
Is the lot they grew on their property, or does it have a property owner (who may or may not be absent)
Something about the piling of the trees seems to me to be less vandalism and more someone trying to clear the lot not knowing what they were pulling up.
I don’t know…when my house was broke in to, none of the thieves bothered to clean up the mess they left.
#33
You forgot to add “in my opinion.”
Sad. The exterior of Church HIll may not be ready for something like an Urban Orchard yet. Hopefully you will consider giving it another go there again at some point in the near future.
1) Kaykay, Elaine called herself a pioneer, Mackie just quoted her. Please ask Elaine WTF she means if you really want to know (fair warning, you probably don’t).
2) Well said Mackie. Of course, this isn’t the first time one of the entitled “Church Hill PIONEERS!!!” has made an ass out of themselves on this blog, and unfortunately for the rest of us, it won’t be the last.
3) Tri Gardens folk, as far as moving to a different location, you absolutely should. It’s not worth it. I am very sorry to sound like a downer and a naysayer, but it is not going to get better here, it is only going to get worse. I can’t get out of this hole fast enough, personally. Every time I balk at the idea of the suburbs, I pop on over here and read things like this post, and I am back on the crossing the James wagon again. Sad, really, but very true.
#37-“Please define for the rest of us, Mackie, what is a ‘pioneer’ of Church Hill, and how long we have to live here to receive that designation/denigration?” to Mackie. Mackie was the self-appointed expert.
I have no questions for Elaine. I know what she meant. Why wouldn’t I want to know? Your post is bizarre.
Someone asked what I meant by the word “pioneer”. Maybe, the better word to have used would have been “visionary”.
But, what’s said is said, so I’ll explain. To me, “pioneers” are visionary people who have faith in their ideas and in their fellow man (well, most of their fellow man).
They often challenge the status-quo by doing something new or different. Pioneers put themselves out there and risk their reputations (and sometimes their livelihoods,) to do what they believe in. They may not be seeking attention, but by simply doing something new or different, they stand out. Sometimes, they become a target.
The folks who founded and continue to operate the Tricycle Garden’s educational programs and community gardens are pioneers. In 2002 when Lisa Taranto and her friends saw a construction debris dump on a vacant lot, they had the vision for a community garden.
One of my neighbors at the time told me it wouldn’t work, that the garden would become a hang-out for vagrants. But the TricGdn pioneers persevered, and look what we have today! An urban farm in Manchester and community gardens throughout Richmond. A healthy thriving organization that educates and inspires all of us.
Similarly, folks who moved to Church Hill in the 1980’s when gun shots in the alley were a weekly (if not daily,) occurrence and the murder rate was sky-high, are pioneers. Those were folks who saw potential in an old abandoned house (along with the other abandoned houses on their block) and thought they could trust enough of their new neighbors to help forge a stronger community.
So that’s what I mean. A pioneer is someone who puts themselves out there. A pioneer is willing to keep going when adversity crosses their path.
A pioneer is someone who keeps doing their thing even if a neighbor scratches his head and wonders “what the heck are you doing, and why would you bother?”
Again, if I’d only used the word “visionary” maybe we wouldn’t have this firestorm of misunderstanding.
PS, by using that word, pioneer, I in no way intended to negate the generations of people who came before us in this community. The simple fact is that in the 1960’s the population of this community started to plummet. People just up and left and continued to do so as the neighborhood further declined. Visionaries (replacing the word pioneers,) started restoring houses (or building new ones) in the late 1970’s and the trend continues to this day.
For those who’ve asked why the trees can’t be saved, newly-planted saplings, and especially fruit trees, are very susceptible to shock, and this has been an especially hard summer for plants. Damage caused by uprooting can weaken the trees and open the door to disease and pests. Central Virginia is full of pests and diseases that love, love, love fruit trees, so even if some of the trees do survive this vandalism, they’re at increased risk.
This is such a sad event.
I want to thank all of you for your ideas, thoughts and hopes that we can continue to turn some of our open spaces in the East End into places where we can grow healthy food.
Your concern is proof that our work is important and meaningful for the neighborhood. We’re not going to leave the East End. And we’re not going to leave Richmond. Our plans are still to expand and up production. We can put our neighborhood to work creating products that are in dire need in our food deserts. We can beautify the blight with green lots full of trees and plants. And we can educate one another about responsible uses of our natural resources.
And your concern in this comment thread has brought so much more awareness to the vandalism than we could have imagined. In fact, we’ve been contacted by a nursery that wants to replace the trees. This is such a tremendous act of generosity just like all of your words and offers.
We’ll be at the orchard on 27th Street tonight for the Church Hill Central picnic. Come by and say hello and help us brainstorm the next steps. And if you’re itching to play in the dirt, we’ll be working on the gardens in front of the new office all day tomorrow. If you want to help out or have any questions, email us at learn@tricyclegardens.org.
-Will
And never mind about tonight. Just got word that tonight’s Church Hill Central picnic is cancelled because of the weather forecast.
Very, very glad that Tricycle Gardens will be continuing their work in the East End. Everyone here knows that living in Church Hill/Union Hill can be a challenge sometimes, with some of the crimes and no-good behavior that can go on. But please, don’t give up and don’t move out. It will take people like you that take pride in your neighborhood, beautify your yards, and yes, sometimes pick up other people’s trash, to better this community. Neighborhood pride is contagious, and I’ve witnessed it first hand by the impact that projects by Tricycle Gardens and neighborhood groups have initiated have had. Through Green Unity’s Union Hill neighborhood planting alone, I have seen people go from telling us it was pointless, to asking how they can get their own flowers and vegetables to plant. We now have a waiting list of people who want us to help them learn to garden. Take a drive by Mosby Court South, and you will now see gardens scattered throughout, and people taking pride in where they live. This is not about forcing certain groups in or out of the neighborhood, it’s about getting the people that may have lost hope to care about their neighborhood again.
@rachel thanks. you inspire the good in me and others. Peace.
Tricycle Gardens has been and continues to be an agent of real change all over the city, especially here in the East End. Truly devastating story. Folks, don’t forget one of the easiest and best ways to support this nonprofit is to donate:
http://tricyclegardens.org/donate/