Across the street from Rochester's Public Market, a more than 1,000-square-foot pollinator garden that took seven years to grow was reduced to a barren strip of earth in about 15 minutes on Wednesday.
The act of vandalism happened in broad daylight, around noon, at 20 First St.
"Two guys came in with riding mowers and weed whackers and said that somebody had paid them 20 bucks to quote unquote 'do the corner,'" said Nathaniel Mich, executive director of Taproot Collective.
Then on Thursday night, someone reportedly broke into their offices and stole an estimated $4,000 worth of equipment and supplies.
"It’s disheartening to say the least," the group posted on Facebook, "but it doesn’t shake our commitment to the gardeners and growers of Rochester.
The nonprofit supports urban agriculture programs in the city to give residents easy access to fresh food and flowers. The wrecked garden was one of the organization's own plots. It sat between the sidewalk and the curb in front of Taproot's First Market Farm, which features fruit trees, vegetables, a greenhouse, and pathways lined with terracotta pavers.
Before it was destroyed, the pollinator garden was densely planted with native flowering plants that attracted butterflies and bees and hummingbirds.
"There were many flowering bulbs, so in April and May the sidewalks were lined with tulips and daffodils," Mich said.
In addition to the plants, the unknown men cut down serviceberry and dogwood trees. While Taproot filed a police report, Mich is not interested in having anyone arrested.
"People are more important than plants," he said, "and we don't want to initiate a process that could result in further harm to a human."
A longtime board member of the collective owns the property. Mich said she was threatened with a weed whacker when she tried to stop the destruction. She declined an interview with WXXI News.
Mich's initial reaction was deep sadness, then a feeling of exhaustion, he said, because this is not the first community garden or urban farm in Rochester that has been damaged or threatened.
He thinks one reason for this is differing views on where an urban garden should be planted, and what it should look like. Mich said as the growing season was ending, the pollinator garden was looking "a little wild." But ultimately he wants people who work in these spaces to feel safe. He also wants wider recognition of the value of urban gardens.
"Just because it's not a lawn doesn't mean it's not important and doing an important service for the community," he said.
Taproot Collective is determined to rebuild its pollinator garden. The organization had already scheduled a fall volunteer day from noon to 2 p.m. Oct. 5. Mich is hoping community members show up that afternoon to put new plants in the soil and design a landscape that serves both animals and people.
"It's sort of fortuitous timing for a terrible thing," he said.
