Community gardeners in Richmond grapple with escalating thefts
Produce, plants, and equipment have been stolen from gardening plots at Terra Nova Community Garden
Richmond's community gardeners say they are growing increasingly frustrated with a wave of thefts at one of the city's busiest green spaces.
The Terra Nova Community Garden in northwest Richmond, where residents cultivate food, flowers and other plants, has experienced more "brazen" instances of theft this year, according to Cheney Creamer, the executive director of Urban Bounty, which looks after the green space.
She says the incidents have escalated from occasional pilfering to more significant losses, including entire vegetable patches and garden equipment.
"It's very typical to have one lettuce plant or a few strawberries or a handful of peas go missing in a community garden," she told CBC News. "But what we've seen this year is a little bit more calculated, a little bit more brazen."
Creamer says the community filed a joint complaint to the police on June 7 when 38 tomato cages and an entire plot of dahlia bulbs disappeared overnight.
Richmond RCMP confirmed to CBC News that they received a report of theft from the garden, which included stolen garden supplies, cabbage heads, corn, and other vegetables. Officials say the investigation has since concluded, and no suspects have been identified.
A couple of weeks ago, another theft occurred, resulting in the loss of patches of potatoes and squash.
"It seems like there's much more of an effort to actually scope out what's here during the day and then come back and actually do some rather large excavation at night and removal of things at night," Creamer said.
Cynthia Chiu, who has been gardening at the community garden since 2006, says thefts have been a recurring issue but have worsened since the pandemic.
Recently, thieves made off with her hanging baskets from her plot and garden poles that help support growing plants.
"They are not taking one or two [garden poles], they are taking more than 150," she said.
Chiu says she would like to see more protection from the city to protect the volunteer-run gardens.
"We cannot do anything right because we don't have any gates here, but we pressed the city to build gates," she added.
The location of the Terra Nova Community Garden, within a rural park and an ecologically protected area, however, complicates efforts to enhance security, according to Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie.
Community members have suggested installing CCTV or motion sensor lighting to deter thefts, but the mayor says these measures face challenges. He cited privacy concerns with security cameras and noted that motion sensor lighting could disrupt the area's delicate ecological balance.
"It really is difficult to deal with," he added.
"There is a certain amount of night security. We'll see if that needs to be beefed up," Brodie said.
In a statement to CBC, the City of Richmond said it is working with Urban Bounty on several initiatives to address the issue, including locking park gates after hours and increasing signage to raise public awareness.
Despite the losses, Creamer said the gardeners in the community have shown resilience.
"Gardeners, we're a fairly resilient bunch. That's kind of what we do," she said. "You'll notice that the gardens that have had massive thefts, they get replanted very quickly."
In the meantime, some gardeners say they hope that increased public attention will help deter further thefts.
"Just respect the gardener. We put so much effort into it," one gardener said. "If they want, they can ask, and we are happy to share."
With files from Meera Bains and Amelia John