News / Environment
Future of Coburg ‘guerilla garden’ in limbo
Site fenced off after testing of soil for chemicals
Mark Phillips
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
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A POPULAR community garden in Coburg has been abruptly fenced off from the public because of concerns its soil may be contaminated with potentially dangerous chemicals.
Merri-bek Council staff erected high metal fencing around the Radicle Roots Commons in what has been described as an “overnight” operation late last month to prevent access while testing was done for Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).
Three weeks later, the site at De Chene Reserve is still surrounded by temporary fencing and the testing results have not been released.
Radicle Roots Commons has been operating more than two years and all crops grown in it are available to the local community for free but with its future in limbo, its supporters are mobilising to ensure the garden can continue.
“Obviously it was alarming to see that fencing [go] up and without much notice given, it’s definitely not something you would hope to see at a garden that’s providing so much for the community on a regular basis,” Marcus Belmore, a founding member of the Guerilla Gardening Naarm collective that established and maintains the site, told a council meeting on April 8.
At that meeting, the group gained an assurance that they could continue to access the garden to water their crops but not harvest any of its produce until there is greater clarity about the presence of PFAS.
The garden has a somewhat controversial history since it was first planted without council permission in December 2023 on public land near the Merri Creek.
It has since grown to encompass a space of about 600 square metres with an array of crops including vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers.
The garden is managed by the self-governed collective and a group of dedicated volunteers tend to the crops with weekly working bees and a roster for watering and weeding.
All produce grown at the garden is made freely available to the local community to pick for their own kitchen tables.
Crops currently growing in the garden include asparagus, kale, pumpkins, guava berries, zucchinis, tomatoes, amaranth (a type of pulse) and a range of herbs.
The fencing was erected on March 24 following preliminary testing that detected the presence of PFAS. Further tests were conducted on March 31.
PFAS, sometimes known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down naturally, are common in commercial, consumer and industrial products and have been found in food and drinking water. At very high levels they can be dangerous to human, animal and plant health.
Guerilla Gardening Naarm member Greta Wallace said the collective was perplexed about what information led the council to decide to test the gardens for PFAS and believed barring access to the site has been a disproportionate response by the council.
“We had been informed that the council was going to be doing testing but when the test results came back, they put the fence up overnight with inadequate communication,” she said.
“They’re only testing our garden which feels really targeted. They’re not testing other gardens.”
The council says it notified the garden group prior to the closure and has maintained ongoing communication.
It says its priority is community safety, and any decision to reopen the garden will depend on the test results and any remediation or risk management measures that are required.
“We want the garden to grow and be shared for many generations to come.”
— Coburg resident Samantha Bond
Belmore said before Radicle Roots Commons was established the collective had tested the soil for heavy metals and other chemicals and had been satisfied it was safe. They had then placed cardboard underneath fresh topsoil and compost bought from a reliable supplier before planting the first crops.
“We were really concerned to make sure there weren’t any health risks [before starting],” he said.
Belmore and others spoke at the council meeting on April 8 to seek a commitment that the full test results would be made available to Guerilla Gardening Naarm so the collective could make its own independent assessment about what to do next.
Last Saturday following the council meeting, about a dozen members met at the site as they do every week to discuss the recent developments.
Belmore said the collective is determined not to let this setback lead to the closure of the garden and want to have control over their destiny.
“We want to do what is in the best interest of the health concerns by not growing food in PFAS contaminated beds but we do want to continue to operate this garden which has become a really important community hub and food growing space which should be a priority in the current state of the world.
“We’re trying to come up with a solution together about how we want to go forward.
“As a minimum we’re going to continue to do working bees which are focussed on maintenance, weeding and watering but not harvesting the garden until we know more.”
Lisa Dempster, acting director of community at Merri-bek Council, said at the April 8 meeting that the test results would be shared with Green Gardening Naarm when they were available and the council was seeking to formalise its arrangement with the group so they could work together on solutions.
The Guerilla Gardening Naarm collective’s philosophy is outlined on its website as aiming “to respond to the escalating cost-of-living and climate crises by creating localised food systems that do not rely on industry or the state.
“Inequalities plague existing food systems; they actively create obstacles to accessing fresh healthy food.
“The garden aims to be a grassroots alternative to these systems and to promote the power of community collaboration and solidarity in meeting our needs. The collective intends to discard ideas of land ownership and instead practice ideas of collective care for, and equal access to, land, embodying the concept of ‘the commons’.”
While the garden has become a popular community asset, in its early days it faced opposition from the council resulting in a motion being passed at a council meeting in February 2024 guaranteeing it could continue to operate. The council also then provided a tap so the garden could be watered more easily than by buckets carried from the creek.
Samantha Bond, who lives in a town house in Urquhart Street near the garden, told the April 8 council meeting the garden was a beloved community hub. She said the collective that ran the garden must have a say about its future.
“People of all generations, cultures, beliefs have joined together to create this incredible harmonious, respecful and abundant garden for everyone to share,” she said.
“I’m so incredibly grateful to have the garden in my life and my community. We want the garden to grow and be shared for many generations to come.”
The success of the Coburg garden has since led to Guerilla Gardening Naarm establishing two other sites in Northcote and North Melbourne.
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Soil in Merri-bek is known to be contaminated; under roads, in parks and on private property. If the group had researched the space, conducted scientific soil tests or approached council and worked with their community gardens people they would have discovered that the area was formerly used for industrial purposes and was contaminated before they set it up.
The fact is they took the land which was accessed by the community and installed their own garden. Now the land is off limits to gardeners, dog walkers, kids, families; everyone! Also, i don’t believe the council installed the tap, it looks like the gardeners tapped into the water feeding the drinking fountain to water their crops.
Guerilla Gardening Naarm is a great group name but the actions of the ‘organisers’ are akin to yhose of sovereign citizens and almost neo-colonialist
What is the origin of the PFAS in the soil?
The council is doing the correct thing here. That site was a heavy industrial construction zone for over 2 years when Melbourne Water was replacing and rebuilding main stormwater tunnels in the area. A lot of contaminated soil would have been unearthed along with construction site remnants. I think that the Gureilla Gardeners are excellent and support their cause, however, public safety must always come first. If food from this site is proven to be contaminated and causes a long-term illness or death, will Merri-Bek council be sued or the Guerilla Gardening team?