This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Blog: Response to "Gill Tract Update: Talks Planned" Statement

I, too, grow lettuce, grapes, kale, strawberries and other veggies. My sentiments on the issue of an urban farm at the Gill Tract and the surrounding land slated for development.

I, too, grow lettuce, grapes, kale, strawberries and other veggies.

I am on the steering committee of Albany’s , Master Gardener, music lover, traveler and a lifelong public school teacher. I have spent many years as an activist around peace and justice issues. I have tried to defend the environment since I can remember and would like to, yet again, express my sentiments on the issue of an urban farm at the Gill Tract and the surrounding land slated for development.

After reading UC’s Wilton and Breslauer’s “” of May 11, I wonder if they have ever even heard of the many Albany residents speaking before the City Council and Planning & Zoning Commission multiple times for a community urban farm on and near the Gill Tract instead of massive development? We have been ignored, rebuffed and stonewalled in the so called “due democratic process” that UC and their one Albany resident glowingly claims to have been seeped in, for lo these many years. Where was the promise to your neighbors then?

I never once remember any official of UC, that we faced in hundreds of meetings during years of our farm groups speaking out, personally approaching us to offer any arbitration ideas, trying to resolve our issues with development, letting us know they heard us, offering to collaborate, discussing advanced UC urban agriculture programs or generating any concern for broad-based decision making with us.

So now it seems like the usual strategy of UC to present solutions of backpeddling and meetings on their own terms while blaming their mismanagement of the Gill Tract and its surrounding tillable land, on the forward thinking “occupiers” when that term includes activists, UC students, farmers, neighboring townspeople, supportive Albany residents, little children, chickens and the 15,000 plants you are killing by denying them water.

Hopefully one day you will wake up to a see the world that the rest of us view: The warming of the earth, people using tactics necessary to avoid food deserts, identifying and taking action on food security and soveigntry issues, and caring about our brothers and sisters being fed sustainable food.

Our future on the planet will either be saved by people taking action or squandered by those who hang on to the status quo.

I am so thankful for the visionary people of Occupy who stood up to give all of us a seat at the table of farming instead of cement and asphalt development.

Find out what's happening in Albanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?