RAVENSWOOD — An urban gardening community is outraged after Union Pacific sprayed pesticide near their Montrose Metra Community Gardens, killing the plants in nearly 20 plots, some of which were to be donated to food pantries.
Community garden leader Renee Patten said the train company had agreed verbally not to spray near the garden along Ravenswood Avenue between Montrose and Berteau Avenues after the garden group voiced concerns that the pesticide would inevitably trickle down to their plant beds.
Union Pacific routinely sprays pesticide near the tracks for safety reasons, said Mark Davis, a spokesman for the company, mostly to prevent overgrowth from reaching the tracks.
Unfortunately, word never reached the staff in charge of the spraying. By Saturday, gardeners began reporting that their plants were wilting and turning yellow.
"It was very clear that something had happened to them," Patten said.
About 18 plots were affected, some of which were growing produce that was set to be donated to food pantries, Patten said. Many of those plots are shared by groups or families.
When they noticed the weeds near the train tracks were also dying, Patten says garden organizer were sure pesticide spray was to blame.
The gardening group issued a satement Tuesday saying they were "saddened at the loss of safe and healthy food for our community, especially in our volunteer beds which help support 3 area food pantries."
Union Pacific confirmed to garden volunteers Tuesday that they did spray pesticide in the area, Davis said.
"We are grateful to UP for admitting their mistake and showing willingness to help avoid this situation in future by establishing a well-marked ‘No Spray Zone,’" the gardening group's statement continued. "Their valued partnership is key to the success of the gardens."
The gardeners said their next steps would be to "replenish the loss of plants in 18 of our gardener’s beds and our volunteer plots and finish the growing season as strongly as possible," according to the MMCG statement. "In addition, we hope to amend any soil that may have been affected and erect a barrier to protect from beds in future. We are seeking any extra vegetable or financial donations to help."
Patten said both sides are working together to avoid future mix-ups that could further damage the gardens. The railroad company plans to add signs warning them not to spray near the planters, and the gardeners are considering putting a barrier along the fence line, which Patten said could be funded from the group's saving. She added that they would welcome help from Metra to fund the new fencing.
"We just want to add some reassurance for our gardeners," she said. "We want to make sure that this doesn't happen again, even if this was accidental."
The community garden was a result of Metra's year-long work on the Union Pacific North Line. While replacing bridges and rebuilding retaining walls from Balmoral to Grace, Metra also created improved green space along Ravenswood Avenue.
As part of its landscaping contract, Metra provided the community garden.
"When you look at the square footage of the ward, there's not a lot of open space. We want to have the community use this space instead of it being a fly-by," Dara Salk, a member of the 47th Ward staff said earlier this year.
While the gardeners were hoping the Union Pacific would contribute to restoring the garden, Davis said he was unsure if they would help financially, but said a public affairs officer for the company would be reaching out to the group.
"While this is still just our first year of the gardens we are dedicated to moving past this setback and continuing to create a vibrant green community space that connects neighbors and fosters a healthy and sustainable environment for all," the gardening group's statement continued.
Donations for the community garden are also taken here.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
