GUERILLA GARDENING
Transforming public spaces from grim to green Plus: Ingrid & Isabel's BellaBand
Turns out Johnny Appleseed was quite the trendsetter! A growing group of environmentally conscious consumers are turning neglected public spaces into lush green gardens. So-called guerilla gardeners essentially squat on abandoned land, turning dirt plots into brightly colored flower gardens. Because they are beautifying land that doesn't belong to them, the gardeners often strike at night, planting daffodils and sunflower seeds by the light of the moon. This practice can sometimes lend a "shock and awe" effect, as the next morning passersby can experience a garden that literally popped up overnight! For particularly covert missions or hard-to-reach spaces, seed bombs (an organic "grenade" made of seeds and compost, often inserted into an empty egg shell) can be launched onto a plot of land. For those looking to get started, ace guerilla gardener Richard Reynolds is coming out with a how-to book, On Guerilla Gardening: A Handbook for Gardening Without Boundaries, later this month.
While guerilla gardens have popped up in cities all over the world, from NYC and Toronto to London and Dublin, Adidas recently created a "Guerilla Gardening" marketing campaign to launch their new eco collection, Grün. The brand teamed up with Dazed & Confused for a contest in which guerilla gardeners submit photos of their work for a competition in which the winners receive Adidas gear or a discount on Adidas. Additionally, Adidas also created a video that explains the phenomenon and shows viewers how to launch seed bombs, as well as a "live" billboard (in London) consisting of plants and flowers within the shape of a sneaker. While this is an extreme form of environmental activism, expect it to become an increasingly aspirational activity as young people are looking to have a cool experience while doing good.
Watch Adidas' Guerilla Gardening video below:
And by the way:
The photo shown with the Belly Bandit yesterday was actually Ingrid & Isabel's BellaBand
. Our most sincere apologies to Ingrid & Isabel!
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* trendcentral articles are designed to be trend reports, not endorsements * The Intelligence Group is a trend-forecasting and marketing Consultancy focused on Gen X, Gen Y and Tweens. For more information on our services, or to subscribe to our syndicated studies, The Cassandra Report, Tween Intelligence, Latino Intelligence, and Mom Intelligence, contact Alina Goncalves at 212-277-5299 or via email at agoncalves@intelg.com.
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