Attend the annual Ruenitz Phi Beta Kappa lecture with urban gardener Ron Finley.
Ron Finley is a rebel with a green thumb widely known as the Gangster Gardener.
Having grown up in the South Central Los Angeles food prison, a geographic location where access to healthy food options are extremely limited or nonexistent, Ron is familiar with the area’s lack of fresh produce.
In 2010 Ron set out to fix the problem by planting vegetables in those often neglected dirt patches next to our streets. After being cited by the city of Los Angeles for gardening without a permit, he fought back, won and started a petition with fellow green activists, demanding the right to garden and grow food in his neighborhood. As a result of Ron's advocacy, a key statue of land rights legislation changed - Ordinance No. 183474. New Residential Parkway Landscaping Guidelines were adopted as policy by the Board of Public Works on June 22, 2015 and the LAMC amended effective April 19, 2015. The new guidelines changed the permit process for landscaping, including edible plant materials, in “parkways” - the area of the street between the back of curb and the sidewalk.
Within 2021 and 2022 alone, Ron has had over 30+ speaking engagements with institutes like USC, UCLA, Cornell University, Hammer Museum, Perkins + Will and Amazon. Ron has also previously spoken at Ted Talk, interviewed with The Ellen Show, and has one of the most popular courses on the Masterclass platform with over 9 million views, making his course the most watched of 2020.
Boldly and tenderly, Ron’s vision to rejuvenate communities around the world through gardening, knowledge, and togetherness has taken root, inspiring millions with his passion for agriculture and food equity.
The Ron Finley Project is teaching communities how to transform food deserts into food sanctuaries, and teaching individuals how to regenerate their lands.
