Portland Occupy Movement Part 2: The Earth Guardians

Forty-some-odd volunteers showed up at Chapman and Lownsdale Square to help reopen for reconstruction, reported local news channels in Portland.

There certainly was no shortage of free hands to help with refurbishing the turf in the wake of the Occupy Portland camp site. If one listened carefully, a soundbite from the newscaster did actually attribute 'at least a couple' of volunteers to the former Occupy movement, deftly implying that even during the coldest part of the season, stampedes of Oregonians are just tickled pink with the thought of lining up in the freezing cold to re-sod an iced over park -  one of which damage supposedly rang up to a staggering $89,000 tab of taxpayer money.

Never mind that $2,000 of that was charged for 'leaf removal'. It seems that Occupy Portland even pissed off the trees, whereby the noble woods declared themselves not in solitary with the 99% and proceeded to crap leaves all over the entire encampment, as trees tend to do.

The fact that the city charged Occupy Portland for the responsibility of raking and disposing of said leaves just goes to show how vitally important of a role the Occupy movement - and all of it's spokes councils - play in restoring not only our parks, but some intelligence, integrity and civic duty in regards to public policy in our local government.

And even amid all of this spin, we leave it to our blind and still ambitious mainstream media to tear at the corners of a portrait until all you see is a distorted image.


The Earth Guardians: Who Are They?

I had become an Earth Guardian the very day it was created, the very hour, the very second it was breathed into the central court in the middle of Chapman Park.

"Mic Check"![Mic Check!], "Mic Check"! [Mic Check!]

Three to five syllable sentences punctured the early morning silence of a post dawn-camp.The precise words uttered that day are likely forever lost to folklore, but to sum up the mans speech, it was put to all listeners within hearing range that the present group of occupiers had decided to form 'The Earth Guardians'. The designation of the de-facto group would hence forth be "the last of the camping occupiers to vacate the park squares, charged with the duties of restoring the parks to their original condition, and, where possible, making improvements to landscape and foliage".

It was a memorable day indeed - for it was in the first week of Occupy Portland that the Earth Guardians were born.

We all had stories, visions, dreams and ideas - all pertaining to the environment, to growing, and more importantly, directly applied to the restoration of the parks that we were just barely 4 days into the process of trampling. I, myself, had an interest in applying Actively Aerated Compost Tea to all portions of the soil within both squares, and had also pledged an interest in teaching others the benefits of growing with microbes.

The Earth Guardians were instrumental in putting the word out to remind people to keep clean and tidy. They had helped stamp out what was the the first of several waves of untidiness to inflict the camps.

They are also lining up in the cold to work.

The Earth Guardians Today

So, when you heard the local news talk about droves of people, not to line up for bed space or for a hot meal, not for the first 100 ipad2's at half price, not even for Mall Santa with a bonfide beard ~ no, these people line up to do backbreaking landscape restoration and repair work to an otherwise iced over pit of mud -

These are dedicated Earth Guardians, and they've been waiting to do their duty. This is their Calling.

The Earth Guardians do not have their own spokes council, nor do they have an allotted budget of any type. They are, arguably, one of the least important and least recognized members of the Occupy Portland movement. However, in the same respect, the Earth Guardians at this moment are in the limelight, despite the fact that mainstream news casts them in the shadows.

As of Wednesday the Earth Guardians description and guidelines as follows:

Earth Guardians -

Assisting in restoring the parks of Lownsdale and Chapman.
Mailing list: opdx-park-restorationATgooglegroups.com

from www.occupyportland.org/organize

Your thoughts on this article? Should Mayor Sam Adams himself find it en vogue to volunteer one day to help clean up after his fellow 99%? Send your comments to g.brunty@gmail.com or twitter @endhour