The university has indicated that there could ultimately be a role for the group on the tract. From Berkeleyside last week:
Berkeleyside talked with representatives from Occupy the Farm, UC, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about the contested property. All seemed to see the merit in using some of this land for urban farming purposes — including teaching students about soil and plant crops and feeding hungry residents in nearby Richmond or South and West Berkeley.
The dean of the university’s College of Natural Resources, J. Keith Gilless, wrote in a May 3 message to faculty (pdf) that, “I firmly believe that biology research and a well-organized metropolitan agriculture program could ultimately not just co-exist on the site, but benefit from interaction…It’s possible for us to achieve something wonderful together at the Gill Tract.”
But Gilless, citing upcoming university activities, also said no accomodation could be reached until the group left. “The only way we can move forward to reconcile the needs and aspirations of everyone is for the current occupation to end so that CNR’s staff can prepare the site. As dean, I cannot be a party to any resolution to this unfortunate conflict that does not respect the academic freedom of CNR’s biologists to conduct their research, or in which I relinquish the rights of my faculty and students now or in the future to help chart the course of the University’s research, teaching, and extension activities.”
The university asked the group to respond by May 5 to a “process for the proposed community dialogue that would be led by the College of Natural Resources.” A process the university reiterated would have to include the group’s departure.
“If the encampment is voluntarily disbanded, we will commit to include occupation participants in a broad-based discussion about the continuation of urban farming under university supervision on a portion of the tract, as well as any future discussions about the long-term future of the property.”
Last night, Occupy the Farm issued a statement in response, and it looks like nobody’s planning on going anywhere, at least right now.
“When the University presents a concrete proposal that satisfies the following concerns, we will break down the camp so that the researchers have access to their plots,” the statement says.
The concerns:
1. That municipal water at the Gill Tract be made available to us.
2. That the Farmer’s Collective and larger community have access to the field in order that we may:
a) Tend to the crops we have planted on the East side of the field.
b) Maintain the Children’s garden in the northwest corner of the tract, as well as the BASIL seed bank homecoming site on the edge of the west field.
3. That in order to protect the organic food crops, the long-term health of the soil, the beehive, as well as the neighbors, including children and families, the researchers/the University refrain from the use of chemical herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, chemical fertilizer or plastic tarp in the soil on the farm.
The group also wrote, “we hope that more consideration for the time that is necessary to facilitate an open community dialogue is respected and that the UC ceases to levy ultimatums such as the one issued on Friday, May 4th.”
UC’s response? None yet, Anya Kamenskaya of Occupy the Farm told KQED’s Paul Lancour this morning.
You can read more about the history of the Gill Tract in this May 1 Daily Cal op-ed by Miguel Altieri and Claudia Carr, two Dept of Environmental Science professors who support the goals of Occupy the Farm.
Full Occupy the Farm statement:
1) Regarding media reports about dialogue between the Gill Tract Farmers Collective and the University of California:
We dispute the veracity of media reports claiming that we failed to respond to the UC’s request for dialogue on Saturday. Dan Siegel, legal counsel for Occupy the Farm, says, “The University’s statement that we failed to contact them on Saturday is incorrect.” In a message to University counsel Chris Patti on Saturday, Siegel wrote, “We were concerned about the potential for a police attack tonight. The farmers are committed to constructive dialogue to resolve the issues raised in our meeting on Thursday. A police action would create serious problems for us and for UC, especially in light of the university’s recently announced plan to adopt less violent police tactics. As you know, our process requires careful consultation with a large number of people. Nonetheless, we will provide you with a comprehensive proposal to resolve UC’s concerns on Monday.”
2) Regarding the resolution of the current conflict over access to and use of the Gill Tract:
The Gill Tract Farmers Collective looks forward to addressing our mutual concerns around the unimpeded work of the Gill Tract researchers. We understand that the nature of genetic research necessitates extra precautions for the security of those experiments. When the University presents a concrete proposal that satisfies the following concerns, we will break down the camp so that the researchers have access to their plots. The concerns are:
1) That municipal water at the Gill Tract be made available to us.
2) That the Farmer’s Collective and larger community have access to the field in order that we may:
a) Tend to the crops we have planted on the East side of the field.
b) Maintain the Children’s garden in the northwest corner of the tract, as well as the BASIL seed bank homecoming site on the edge of the west field.
3) That in order to protect the organic food crops, the long-term health of the soil, the beehive, as well as the neighbors, including children and families, the researchers/the University refrain from the use of chemical herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, chemical fertilizer or plastic tarp in the soil on the farm.
We continue to be willing to facilitate this transition process for the researchers, and to work jointly toward such tasks as the construction of new fences or gates that would allow for our access to the locations referenced in Condition 2, so long as these conditions are met. We look forward to further discussion around how to make this a truly collaborative process for all stakeholders in the Gill Tract. This includes not only the Albany community, the Gill Tract Farmer’s Collective, and UC Berkeley, but also the residents of the greater East Bay. Because of its unique location in a thriving urban area, any future use of the Gill Tract has an immediate impact on East Bay food sovereignty, equity, and access issues. We hope that more consideration for the time that is necessary to facilitate an open community dialogue is respected and that the UC ceases to levy ultimatums such as the one issued on Friday, May 4th.
3) Regarding our vision:
Our original vision in occupying this parcel of land, the last and best soil in the urban East Bay, was to preserve the entirety of the Gill Tract as agricultural land not only for a single growing season, but in perpetuity. This vision persists. Farmland is for farming.
