For almost four years now Occupy the Farm protesters have been fighting to save the Gill Tract, a large parcel of prime urban farmland at the corner of Marin and San Pablo in Albany, CA, from development.
The latest fight has been part of the acreage where a new Sprouts, a parking lot and a high-end senior assisted living facility are to be constructed. Five meditators took their seats early this morning so as to halt, or at least delay, construction crews. Three were ultimately arrested.
3 meditators arrested; one standing up to bulldozers https://t.co/WRzGDw2tmY being brought to Santa Rita https://t.co/UnFUL5sAbO
— Occupy the Farm (@occupyfarm) February 8, 2016
Contractors began work on the southern portion of the Gill Tract in January, and last week several truckloads of healthy topsoil began to be removed from the historical farm. The Gill Tract was sold to the University of California in 1928 under the condition it would be used for agricultural research and education.
“The Gill Tract represents the global struggle to restore caring relationships with Mother Earth and the contest between resource and human exploitation and healing connections,” explained Pancho Ramos in a pre-released statement, one of the protesters sitting in silent meditation. The group Occupy the Farm vows to continue disrupting construction until the UC and its corporate partners cancel construction projects on the land. Such tactics of disruptions and delays in construction, increasing costs beyond expected, has effectively caused several other socially and environmentally contested projects to be cancelled in the US and elsewhere.
OTF Facebook entry on today’s action.
Another video from the action today:
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