Friday, September 23, 2011
City/County News Update: Adam Guerrero's Garden
Posted by Hannah Sayle on Fri, Sep 23, 2011 at 1:11 PM
The future is bright for Adam Guerrero's garden.
After a social media outcry to the tune of thousands of supporters, and even some national media attention, Guerrero's story moves toward a happy resolution: He will keep his front yard garden trimmed, install a bubbler and introduce mosquito-eating fish into his backyard pond, reduce the number of on-site worm bins, and install mesh covers on his rain barrels to keep mosquitoes out.
"I never said you could not have a garden," said Potter, clearly concerned about the negative attention his court has received of late. "That's inaccurate. I've always encouraged environmental activism, sustainability, going green, and blight reduction."
Guerrero's attorney — who was brought on board at what Adam calls "crunch time, which translates to "two days ago" — agrees with Potter's assessment.
"I think there was some misunderstanding and the truth is the court really wants to work with this," said Farris Deboard of Burch Porter & Johnson. "There were just a few things we needed to tidy up."
Judge Potter also advocated finding a piece of blighted property for Guerrero to devote to an educational garden. The City of Memphis is currently working to identify vacant land where Guerrero could grow a community garden.
Adam brought along the three young men who volunteer at the garden — Jovantae, Jarvis, and Shaquielle — to witness the proceedings (with the permission of their school and parents.) The three were pleased with the outcome. They say they're eager to get back into the garden, since Adam has been so busy with the case.
"We'll be back at it tomorrow," said Jovantae.
Code enforcement officers were present to attest to this progress, and their word was enough to convince Potter that a resolution was near at hand.
Guerrero's neighbor, Levi Dowdy, was also present. After the judge decided on a course of action, Dowdy was allowed to voice his concerns — primarily that the changes the judge ordered would not staunch the smell of Guerrero's garden, nor would they solve the rat problem Dowdy attributes to Guerrero's yard.
"All the people on Facebook saying that it's okay, yeah it's okay to them because they probably live in Germantown or in Collierville, and they don't have to smell it everyday," said Dowdy.
Judge Potter replied he would work with Guerrero and his attorney, the health inspectors, and the Attorney General to try to resolve the issue.
A conference with attorneys from both sides will happen within the coming weeks to sort out any of the judge's remaining concerns. Adam's next official court date is set for October 21st.
Comments (17)
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I stopped by Mr. Guerrero's garden yesterday and he graciously showed me his garden and his vermiculture bins. He opened the lids of several bins and I put my nose and hands in them. There was absolutely NO SMELL. At most, there was the sweet earthy smell of fresh rich soil. To me, Mr. Guerrero's garden seemed well-planned and executed for the educational purposes that it serves.
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Shitstorm or no this is as good as an outcome as could be expected. I applaud the decision, and Adam's efforts to resolve the matter.
@cori_mclaughlin
After reading Mr. Dowdy's comments, I was concerned about the smells he was talking about, so I'm glad you can attest to the fact that there is no smell. It sounds like Mr. Dowdy has other issues not connected to Mr. Guerrero's garden.
Very glad to hear the city will be working with Mr. Guerrero to provide him with a piece of blighted property for him and his students to improve, hopefully involving the community and encouraging others to follow Mr. Guerrero's example.
I assume/hope Mr. Deboard represented Mr. Guerrero pro bono in this case. Does anyone know whether that's the case? His firm (Burch Porter) has an admirable history of doing so.
Here's hoping what occurred this morning means all's well that ends well.
A good ending for all involved....looking forward to seeing what results from vacant lot and what trends it can start in communities that so badly need fresh veggies and fruits. Feed a man a fish and you feed him for the day, teach him how to fish and you feed him for the rest of his life.....
Felder Rushing is speaking at the botanic garden on october 18. I hope he will include some photos of his transformation of Mr. Guerrero's water feature - it's great!
I think this is a great outcome, on all counts! (well, except for Mr. Dowdy, who pretty much ruined his credibility by his public statements). Thanks to Judge Potter, for being open minded, and apparently, 'going above and beyond' his duties in this case. I hope this is the beginning of wonderful things to come, ie; the city helping to turn blighted properties all over Memphis into functioning community gardens. Congratulations, Adam! I'll be following future developments closely - I hope my fellow Memphians will also - this is proof that, working together, we CAN make a change!
I gotta laugh at Mr. Dowdy's comment saying the upset folks are from neighbouring communities and not living near him. I am from Canada and was upset enough to write a letter. This is big.
I am also upset with Mr. Dowdy's comments that those who where for Mr. Guerrero getting to keep his garden not being from the same community. i signed the petition and only live a few blocks from there on Stacey st
I have 2 compost bins in my back yard and three at my garden. The bins in my back yard don't smell and the ones at my garden only smell when fresh garden waste is added, and that is only for a short while. If you are tending the compost and doing it right it should not smell. I agree that Mr. Dowdy seems to have other issues. With all the work Mr. Guerrero does in his garden I seriously think he is educated enough to know how to compost properly. I applaud the Memphis community for their support of Mr. Guerrero and his efforts.
Congratulations on an excellent outcome. It appears that city hall and people can actually work together for a common outcome. I'm signing on from Texas, I have my own microfarm, and while it isn't for everyone, I think the smell of compost is one of the best things around. It's just the smell of nature at work.
Hooray for organic, back(front...)yard, food-raising initiatives and the growing movement to convert marginal plots into permaculture paradises. Best regards from www.laughingdogfarm.com in Western Massachusetts...
Congratulations! And, by the way, I am personally favor of random planting of vegetables anywhere. I'd like to see pole beans growing up street signs. And why not greens in medians? How about potted peppers at doorways? Just because they're doesn't mean veggies aren't pretty, too.
Mr. Dowdy seems to have other underlying issues. As for rats, that seems to be a problem anywhere, especially in the south. There may be other neighbors that are dumping scraps out in the yard, leaving dog and cat food accessible, etc. that could be bringing in the rats. If that area is short on rain, they could be coming in for water sources. Maybe he is the source of his own rat problem and smell. Perhaps someone should check out his property? I think it is only fair considering his complaints.
Rats need a rat sized hole to get in and Victor makes an excellent audio repellent you can buy at Lowes. An ounce of prevention can save lots in lawsuits. BTW Mr. Dowdy I live in Binghampton where gardens are the norm.
I really don't understand how anybody considers this a victory? Because he wasn't forced to get rid of his front yard garden, rain barrels and pond? The fact that he has to remove ALL 24 of his worm bins which keep restaurant vegetable scraps out of the landfill is a huge loss. The fact that he has to remove tires he keeps out of the landfill by using them as planters is a huge loss. There is a difference in keeping old tires in your yard and repurposing tires into planters. And according to the podcast interview with Adam, now that media attention is off this issue, he expects to be given more orders that could relate to the biodiesel production. I know stories feel better with happy endings but this does not seem like a happy ending to me. I hope that Adam considers fighting these orders.
Gina: you are 1000% right, and thank you for pointing out that feel better doesn't necessarily mean feel good. Everyone was so happy he got off death row, no one focused on the fact he might still be in lock down. I hope the Flyer follows Adam and his micro environment's subsequent history.
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