Vegetable patch planted to feed community uprooted

THE uprooting of a Port Elizabeth vegetable patch has resulted in a blame game between the man who started it, a garden service and a developer.

The community garden for the poor in Humerail was uprooted for the second time on Thursday by the garden service, following an instruction from the developer.

Humerail resident and 2012 The Herald Citizen of the Year finalist Charl Parkin planted the garden across the road from his property in 2012. The vegetable patch next to the Waterfront Business Park near the Humerail Shopping Centre was uprooted in November but Parkin replanted it a few days later.

“I began the project at my own cost to help feed those in need,” Parkin said.

Parkin, who has motor-neuron disease, said he wanted to give back to the community after he found out about his condition in 2012.

-Devon Koen