Name: A guerrilla gardener in South Central LA
Uploaded: 2013-03-06T16:06:58Z
Duration: 10 min 29 s
Description: Ron Finley plants vegetable gardens in South Central LA -- in abandoned lots, traffic medians, along the curbs. Why? For fun, for defiance, for beauty and to offer some alternative to fast food in a community where "the drive-thrus are killing more people than the drive-bys."

Ron Finley: A guerrilla gardener in South Central LA

A guerrilla gardener in South Central LA

Ron Finley plants vegetable gardens in South Central LA -- in abandoned lots, traffic medians, along the curbs. Why? For fun, for defiance, for beauty and to offer some alternative to fast food in a community where "the drive-thrus are killing more people than the drive-bys."

Planting gardens in neglected urban spaces can spark health, pride, and social change. In South Central Los Angeles, a city with 26 square miles of vacant lots, fresh produce is scarce while obesity rates soar to five times those in nearby neighborhoods. Transforming these empty plots into food forests not only challenges the status quo but also empowers residents to reclaim their health and future. Urban gardening becomes both an act of defiance and a source of hope.