Led by a banner and accompanied by a small marching band, organizers from the Slingshot collective launched seed bombs--solid dirt balls filled with seeds-- over the double-stacked shipping containers and into the now-former park using slingshots, both store bought and homemade.
The Leap Day protest began at the corner of Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue, with demonstrators marching to Chase bank to protest their climate policies and support for the 'Cop City' development in Atlanta, Georgia, before making their way to the perimeter of what was formerly known as People's Park.
Volunteer James Palmer told Bay City News: "With the shipping containers, obviously we can't push them over, we can't get over them. We wanted to figure out a way to express our displeasure, not only at what's happening, but at the ridiculous overreaction of building a wall like this."
A recent Berkeleyside report that found UC Berkeley spent nearly of four-and-a-half million dollars on security at the site.
Although the protest was peaceful, community members who did not appear to be present for the march to the location began spray painting shipping containers as the event came to a close. No arrests were made, but officers took photos and video of at least two adults and one child using spray paint on the containers.
