Our Mission

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Guerrilla gardening started in the 70’s by environmentally conscious people with a green thumb and a mission. The practice is intended to make unused and neglected spaces beautiful, green and healthy. Early guerrilla gardeners performed their work in the dead of night, though recently the practice has become more open. There are blogs and community groups that can provide you with a guerrilla grow guide and support if you want to try a little random act of growing in your neighborhood.

There are many reasons that people take up the cause of guerrilla gardening. The activity is sometimes an attempt to increase urban green space for recreation. It can also provide spaces with edible plants for neighborhood use. Some gardeners simply do it to cover up unsightly areas or take back overly developed regions. It may even be a protest against inadequate government maintenance practices. Whatever the reason, creating guerrilla gardens is a satisfying activity that can be meaningful in many ways.

- Bonnie L. Grant, Certified Urban Agriculturist  

Guerrilla Gardeners of Washington DC is a 100% volunteer nonprofit organization that improves public spaces, strengthens underserved communities and positively impacts the lives of at-risk youth. We provide leadership, knowledge, organization, volunteer labor and supplies in collaboration with local residents to create more equitable, attractive, usable and safer green spaces for urban neighborhoods. We encourage and empower all the stakeholders—public and private—to maintain and build on these improvements. We provide vocational training internships in gardening, landscaping and urban agriculture to young people facing homelessness and food insecurity. We are ecologically astute, transforming underutilized, neglected or abused public spaces into pollinator habitats to support birds, bees and butterflies. We are historically sensitive, restoring and giving new life to urban relics, objects, and graphics that have survived within the landscapes we improve.

what can be accomplished by a motivated individual or group.

community members to join our movement.

community members improving public spaces.

community members on a new perception of public spaces.

 with neighbors, civic groups, businesses and government officials. 

because we give our time and effort, but rely on the financial support of the community.