Occupy the Farm Activists Say That UC Berkeley Shut Off Their Water

On Monday afternoon at Gill Tract, more than an acre of land had been weeded, and planted, with more work underway by a group of activists who Sunday. 

One activist said the university had shut off water to the fields, and urged supporters to contact the chancellor's office to protest the decision. 

Earlier in the day, farmers on the Gill Tract said they're making plans to cultivate parts of the 15-acre lot for the long haul.

"This land has been underutilized and doesn't stand to benefit the people in our community," said Lesley Haddock, 20, a media liaison for the group Take Back the Tract.

"We want it to serve as a model for urban agriculture, in a time when people feel insecure about where their food comes from," Haddock said. 

Haddock said students, faculty and community members tried for 15 years to express their desires and dreams to the university for a community garden at the Gill Tract, but met with no success. 

"We're at the point of last resort," Haddock said. "We were not getting anywhere through traditional discourse. The field's been lying fallow since winter, and we're going to cultivate it and make it a hub for urban agriculture and education."

Haddock said those involved with Occupy the Farm were concerned about plans to pave over the Gill Tract for a parking lot and a Whole Foods market. 

Community Development Director Jeff Bond said the current agricultural land that's being occupied is not part of the project area where the . 

But the issue is somewhat muddied by the fact that the original Gill Tract land, 104 acres, has been divided and developed over time, leaving farm occupation organizers concerned about the future of the remaining open space. 

"The fact that it's been sectioned off," said Anya Kamenskaya, "history shows they've been eating away at it incrementally. We don't feel convinced the university is committed to keeping it for agricultural use." 

Kamenskaya said, even though the Whole Foods is not planned to be developed on the farm land, the group hopes to shut down the effort. 

Haddock said plans for Occupy the Farm began in late 2011, and that vegetable starts had been donated to the group from as far away as San Jose. Carrots, kale, broccoli and corn are among the crops being planted. 

Activists took down a  on Sunday, though tall fava bean stalks belonging to researcher Miguel Altieri remained standing. 

Haddock said she'd been stunned Sunday to see hundreds of people working the fields, many of whom had no prior farming experience. About 300 people attended Sunday's event, with about 60 who slept overnight, she said. 

The group could use donations, Haddock said, of supplies, money and a motorcycle engine "to turn into a generator to charge cell phones," as well as volunteers to help with farming.

Tuesday night, the related to the , and Haddock said there would likely be people there to speak on behalf of the occupation of the Gill Tract. 

For now, however, the focus is on the farm.

"For the next few days, we're expanding," she said. "Soon, all of this will be farm land."