Incredible Edible

Plant first, ask later. This is what a handful of volunteers in an ordinary town in northern England did, and from it sprang a worldwide grow-it-yourself revolution. "We don't like to call it guerrilla gardening, because that reminds us of macho warfare. We'd rather call it naughty but nice," said the chair, Mary Clear. 

The idea is to claim public property and plant it with food that can then be picked by anybody who walks by. Incredible Edible Todmorden was founded in 2008, and its 400 volunteers have since planted a thousand or so fruit trees and built raised plots around town. Depending on the season, you will find artichokes in front of the police station, purple-sprouting broccoli by the community college and black currants along the canal. 

The group appropriated land, root by root, until the local council finally created an "incredible" license, allowing residents to grow food on patches of unused property. 

What began as an idea has now grown into an international movement, with similar initiatives in over 20 countries from Australia to Senegal, Cuba and Japan. 

"Incredible Edible has made the town famous," the mayor Michael Gill said, "It took off more than anyone could have expected, and people now come from all around the world to see for themselves."

For more information
Website:http://www.incredible-edible-todmorden.co.uk/
Video:http://www.sparknews.com/en/video/incredible-edible-sustainable-future-growing-food-public-spaces