(

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/otisrtaylorjr/amp/Longtime-Oakland-residents-now-homeless-14815555.php

[@shortforsophie]

Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't this shit should be pinned...

[@cosmiccatlord4902]

Thanks for teaching me about plants and trees

[@babelKONI]

Where did you see that photo of the bayline back then?

[@CITYBORNDESERTBRED]

Capitalism at work

[@naughtiusmaximus1811]

Grateful for Fam every Day

[@sleuthed]

"The middle class gotta work two jobs and are miserable all the time, probably turn into alcoholics--oh look, it's a fennel"

[@ambergreen6714]

Lol I loved that comment

[@1019jen]

Lol!!!!!

[@seankeikbusch9404]

Noticed this comment right as he was saying that

[@fitzdevlin]

yep, was gonna transcribe it myself. ha ha xD kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWbUd2WeesqZjsk

[@kingfisher9553]

I believe that is a quote of a Matsuo Basho Haiku

[@redteller]

'I think uh crackheads stole the wires from the camera, it's not even connected no more. Good for dem.'

[@musk4mars116]

Elijah Griffin Correction. Good for dem.

[@chevychase3103]

Modern capitalism at its best!

[@jimitaco1303]

@@kenspiker4981 You mean subway stations and universal healthcare?

[@lukequinlan4523]

@@jimitaco1303 and starving people and a shitty corrupt government

[@andyherbert2304]

@@lukequinlan4523 man good thing we don't have to deal with that here in America right?🤣

[@bart8805]

"Thick patina of vehicular particulate exhaust" is poetry. Holy cow.

[@lo2740]

thick layer of pollution exhaust....

[@TheCasualCosmonaut]

No one: Botanists being unnecessarily wordy: "thick patina of vehicular particulate exhaust" Source: Studying botany and I'm just as bad when it comes to being verbose.

[@mrfancypanzer549]

Sounds like a monologue from a noir film.

[@jek__]

Mmmm, the soccarat of the city lol

[@AZHighlandHomestead]

And yet almost none of us ride a bicycle or walk to where we need to go.

[@ataaah]

One of my favorite memories of my mom: about spring of 1967, she spotted a construction site where someone was tearing down a home to put in a mini-mall. We came back when the construction crew was gone and and dug up about 100 sparaxis (harlequin flower) bulbs and took them home to plant in our own garden. Every time I see harlequin flowers, I think of her guerrilla gardening. Mom was a rather tweedy Irish woman, but she would have thought you were "fan-bloody-tastic."

[@bojcio]

Sparaxis sounds like a resource in a video game.

[@JayneDedek]

❤❤❤

[@growingboy]

This is both entertaining and a serious interdisciplinary lecture. Way better than 99% of my college classes.

[@DavidTa2]

Inter-inter-disciplinary 😆

[@landonjackson3064]

Yay more indoctrination

[@ryPish]

This post-apocalyptical railway botany stuff is pretty good, very real, keeps you grounded but not totally depressed. It's kinda nice.

[@TheArc37]

Word

[@listerinestrips1156]

lol it is probably the apocalypse 1984 is here big brother is always watching

[@rhodesianwojak2095]

Destroy the highways. Raise the rails.

[@listerinestrips1156]

@RHodesian Wojak lol destroy it with ghost train haze strain!!!!

[@joemeyers4131]

Like the fiction type movies with city buildings overgrown all over with thick plants and vines or trees . Or the jungle ride at Disneyland of with a lost city ruins in it .

[@jamessannino]

"they really just created a dystopian, blade runner-esque bleakness. But ya know Loma Prieta took that down -- Oh look the yuc's flowering!" Love this guy

[@evan10307]

"ehahah lookat that its a freeze dried rat. how quaint"

[@moonson8804]

Talking about serious societal issues, "But anyway, look at this Fennel" love it

[@fueymanchoo1291]

I work in the construction industry and I can help explain what happened. After the 2008 crash, the banks ended up with massive amounts of properties from smaller landlords. Over the following years, these units were consolidated into larger entities; the major banks and insurance companies. Once they realized what they had, they bought more. I won't name any company names but I'll leave it at the one's that got the bailouts. They would kick out previous tenants, do a quick makeover to the interiors and charge crazy rents. Why? This way they could prevent people from being able to afford down payments to purchase real-estate of their own. From their perspective, why take a risk on loaning people money, when they can just rent the property to you, at a better rate of return. At the end of the day, it's not like earth is getting bigger. Now fast forward to today. Guess who is buying up farmland?

[@maxmarohn581]

Oh fuck I appreciate the insight this comment gave me but man does it make me feel hopeless

[@aprilk141]

@@maxmarohn581 it is pretty gross, but at some point we can just take it back. I feel that despair too sometimes. Instead of sinking too deep, I started researching and practicing the skill I think most folks should learn. Its a long ass list, but basically what you need to make it through this fall into fascism we are currently in.

[@eyesofthelaw]

@@aprilk141 what would you reccomend starting with?

[@pambennett8967]

I knew it was the banks

[@aprilk141]

@@eyesofthelaw Stop The Bleed is a free training course book on the web for stopping traumatic bleeding. Self defense training is good. Gardening, foraging, first aid, go camping to get used to lack of running water and electricity, and finally engage in some mutual aid in your area.

[@oglingling]

“The crack heads stole some of the wires... good for them.” “Someone was nice enough to cut a hole in the fence” Positivity 👍🏻

[@traill2]

"kinda looks like a giant external hard drive" a perfect description of all new condos in the bay

[@rfmerrill]

They're cheap too, won't be standing in 50 years

[@skm9420]

@@rfmerrill they'll be standing, just won't be safe. I've seen new stick framed apartments put up all over Phoenix that I'll never set foot in.

[@Togmot]

Theyre building these disgusting, soul-crushing concrete and styrofoam cubes everywhere here in germany too. It's rebranded soviet brutalism paired with capitalistic greed and lack of real craftsmanship. Sad times.

[@LDrosophila]

Box on top of box on top of box in any shade of gray you could imagine.

[@momspaghettis4527]

It's always uplifting to see plants finding a way to survive in the poorly planned suffocating urban hellscapes

[@listerinestrips1156]

urban places are great for skateboarding mane!!! skateboarding is life

[@rhodesianwojak2095]

@@listerinestrips1156 nee

[@farmgirlre4634]

Mother Nature will always prevail! I would rather see plants than garbage any day.

[@missriss3377]

.... what do you think the area looked like before cities were built here?.... it used to be beautiful. Everything was .. free... and you can build a non permanent home.. travel... just know the land... 😩... people have no business being homeless and hungry. And others have no business douching on them either.

[@Jokyl989]

"Signs of an empire in decline...Anyway, let's go look at some plants"

[@strelitziapete9071]

LOL, he says it as it is

[@happymama2793]

My brother, who was on the spectrum, with ear issues that got worse in high altitude, was forced to live on the streets of California but our adopted 'parents' He starved to death He was 22 Thank You for doing what you do For having the heart you have You're helping so many and teaching others how to do the same

[@tippyc2]

Everybody's on their own. Cant even count on family, can they?

[@cristian_g01]

@@tippyc2 no only the lucky one’s

[@brentt6714]

Defenders of capitalism in the US claim that no one starves to death here. If you bring up that you personally know someone that did, I predict their next "argument" is to speak incredibly ill of the dead Sorry for your loss. We're not alone in our suffering, even though it feels like we are

[@happymama2793]

@@brentt6714 I got a few, now deleted, comments asking me why I didn’t help him. Putting more weight on a stranger when you’re unaware of where they are/were in their own lives, much less even their Age, and not putting weight on the government to feed and house people Thank you for your kind heart 💕

[@CynicalMartian]

​@@happymama2793I'm sorry about your brother. May he rest in peace

[@keithroxyabudarham9138]

Hi this is so cool! I'm a starving artist in chicago, but i love raising fish and plants, so we started a bunch of cheap feeder goldfish in a huge bin on our little deck. We fill it with things we find in our alleys. Bags of sand is found by finished constructions, decorational rocks are cinderblocks, cement chunks and gravel. My gf suggested grabbing whatever plants grow in our alleys to see what could live fully submerged in water- and i was so surprised! turns out chicago used to be all wetland, so a ton of the weeds and grasses growing in the cracks of the alleys actually grow huge and flourish! The only things we ever bought were just the goldfish, 2 snails, fish food, and a water conditioner. Our fish are so big now!

[@JoshBroadhurst]

love this. I'm in Chicago too and there's a tomato plant almost ready to fruit growing through a crack in the alley out back. where in Chicago are you?

[@nancynickerson4341]

"I'm a low class bastid." No Joey, you're a good guy doing great stuff.

[@katiekane5247]

Agree, decent people look at their guerrilla plantings with pride, low class bastards dump their trash & laugh about it.

[@horacegentleman3296]

He's fringe like Frank Reynolds.

[@nancynickerson4341]

@Real Donald Trump his real name is Joey Santore

[@Guppyg53]

There is no "high class", only assholes who think they're too good for the rest of us

[@1nfinitezer0]

A goddam treasure that's what. The alternation between scathing and informed critiques of our busted society, with a measure of acceptance, and then instantly switching to excitement about botany = food for the soul, man. Yeah, the situation is basically f'd but lookit how awesome this plant is! It's a way of being that'll keep you sane in this mad world.

[@br2485]

Dude you're genuinely like a vaccine. Seeing you be somewhat positive - or at least honest - about all this makes the world feel a little less insane.

[@BubblewrapHighway]

My daily thought process. Are we past the peak of the American hyperpower? Is trump our Romulus Augustulus? I believe so.

[@ArsenicMint925]

He sounds more like dmt because he's waking everybody up.

[@Dockhead]

@@BubblewrapHighway you were on a steady downward slope well before trump, what makes you think obama was better?

[@BubblewrapHighway]

@@Dockhead Well, YOU said that, I didn't. Obama could have been our Ricimer or Julius Nepos. Stop putting words in others' mouths.

[@listerinestrips1156]

lol all that crap is fake

[@Feuerbluete]

*Rants about the effects of capitalism-* Oh look, a neat plant *- continues to rant about capitalism*

[@AM-kr4pv]

That's basically my brains inner monologue.

[@donotgotthis]

Exactly the content I subscribed for👌*chef's kiss*

[@RandyFelts2121]

iT AN'T CAPITALISM IT'S DESPOTISM.

[@augusttremblay7781]

@@RandyFelts2121 those are the same thing

[@rhoeasie]

Oh look a fennel

[@jek__]

If you live in one of those condos, you probably spend 90% of the time on your computer and have a series of air filtering machines inside your house to mitigate the problems that arise from proximity to garbage dust. From what I've seen, those giant hard drives are generally super nice inside, but it's like living in a space pod. I wonder what percent of those complexes get their groceries delivered lol People punishing or blaming the homeless themselves pisses me off and makes me sad. How can someone look at a human being struggling to survive and think "oh, what an eyesore". What a disgustingly selfish worldview. Cognizant enough to realize that it hurts to look at someone in pain, but so self involved as to think if they push it out of sight then the problem goes away. I guess it's a self defense in a way, these people can't handle imagining that there are good people struggling, so when they see struggling they just pretend that they can't be good people.

[@frostjune6072]

these people dont see homeless or addicts as someone in pain, they see them as an eyesore that should be rounded up and shot

[@carstarsarstenstesenn]

Some people who were born into money can't accept that it's possible for almost anyone to become homeless. They can't come to terms with the fact that the "bums" of their city are just everyday people like anyone else.

[@joemeyers4131]

How the homeless are treated bad so much or verbally bothers me in a rural town I wouldn't want to be homeless . The last 4 years near my apt I notice the homeless have to tolerate summers of 100 to 113 degrees of heat outside and sweating profusely .

[@seankeikbusch9404]

Came for the botany stayed for the social commentary.

[@wilytyote]

In a perfect world, PBS would be filled with shows filmed and dictated exactly like this.

[@chipacabra]

When you're out looking at plants, do you ever have the desire to uproot and destroy those invasive species, like european grasses, fennels, and landlords?

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

In wild habitat yes, here... Not so much.

[@melissac5740]

I hear the guillotine is an effective tool for some of those invasives.

[@teagancombest6049]

@@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt Congested cities are the landlord's native habitat

[@TheFuzzieWuzzie]

Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't ~ The dreaded Mullen 😬

[@ZebraJenn]

You may despise mullein, but it's a good medicinal herb. Works like mucinex for colds and is anti inflammatory like advil and such. It can also soothe the digestive tract. Leaf is more anti inflammatory, and I find the flowers to be very helpful with respiratory issues. The little hairs can make your throat itchy for some folks. If you want to get rid of a plant, dry the leaves and save some $.

[@minoyd]

"Look at dat, it's a freeze-dried rat! How quaint!" That's what people think when they see me

[@StaticTremor]

This is my all-time favourite CPBBD comment.

[@minoyd]

@@StaticTremor he's a well-spoken bastid

[@wack-a-dude6702]

Change the world.

[@lemonlimelad6170]

This is such an incredibly insightful look at run down urban spaces, I feel that any urban studies/planning student at any university needs to watch this to see how things they design actually impact the ecology of the space they're in. Same for any politician, civil engineer etc.

[@yaboihenry1946]

32:46 “I see it, and it makes me want to slowly die. Moving right along”

[@Flyn4thewin]

I am formerly homeless and lived near train tracks, under bridges and the like. I had camps often destroyed by gentrification and development. It means so much to me to see someone out here talking to people about these realities. Also, on the note of watching people shit in buckets, rich people will watch you go to the bathroom and complain. They could look anywhere from their condo window, at the city or the bay or mountains or fields or whatever landscape.... And they choose to focus on a homeless person taking a dump. It's pathetic.

[@CynicalMartian]

I live in Austin TX where we're experiencing unprecedented levels of gentrification and demographic shift right now. I guarantee you that the bougie yuppies who moved here have probably taken a drunken piss behind a dumpster on sixth Street but would flip their shit if they saw an unhoused person do that...

[@Freshbott2]

@@CynicalMartiana hoard of smug Texans once said to me: something, something, California. Something, something, blue state. Something about we don’t have homeless. Something about guns. Yeehaw.

[@Akkodha-]

@@Freshbott2Sounds like you spoke to Boomhower

[@LeahLuciB]

And then they remove all the public bathrooms, making the problem worse

[@phillyphakename1255]

​@@LeahLuciBtake away trash cans. Complain about trash filled homeless camps. It pisses me off. Humans need municipal services. When we refuse to give everyone services, we shouldn't complain about them leaving their literal shit on the street.

[@jamesdriscoll9405]

"In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught." (Baba Dioum, 1968.)

[@MistressKatari]

This is super inspiring to me. Thank you for sharing 🤙

[@taylorhorne6645]

Spot on brother.

[@rachiesayd9423]

Wisdom!

[@brightmooninthenight2111]

And in my whole upbringing through American education not One day were us kids taught about our local natural environment. I've been teaching myself and I am shocked at how deeply oblivious and ignorant I was my whole life in the place I've always lived. Kids in mass simply are not taught about their natural environment. It's really messed up. They taught me about some Spanish asshole who sailed around the top of Africa though. Great quote though..

[@travelandfestivals]

Lmao this scenery. Imagine a guy with a camera walking through homeless people territory and a dump place, getting all scientific about plants.

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Yes. I thought about that and enjoyed it too.

[@ReedIngalls]

Nice change of pace from racist grandpas filming homeless camps to complain on Nextdoor

[@petuniaandpoppy4615]

Tommy Petraglia looks like more fennel to me!

[@lumpyg]

@@tommypetraglia4688 Looks like Foeniculum vulgare invasive Fennel.

[@sietuuba]

This is remarkable stuff so I'm remarking and telling other people too. Never expected such a mix of science, sass and social commentary.

[@jackuul]

I still come back to this video about once a year, maybe two. I dunno why but this one hits me in a certain place. Maybe part nostalgia for pre-2020s, maybe just a nice bit of reality to slice through the daily mundane, maybe just because I like this one in a weird way, but also hate it too because of the misery of the human condition. Dunno. I used to live in SoCal back in the 90s, but I was too young and insulated to really know everything - but even then I saw the cracks. There was always a huge paranoia around the homeless but my mom used to pack sandwiches for them until the cops told her to stop. The decay is sad and beautiful, but all of it is a sort of pain in the heart. The decay is everywhere. Entropy is inevitable. Crapitalism turns it all to crap. But even through all that, plants grow, and when we're long gone the environment will reclaim all of our monuments and turn most of them to dust. Dunno, just rambling thoughts while revisiting this time and place.

[@caitlynnc.k.4942]

My man used to work setting up marathons in sf, and he had to stop because he felt like he was losing his humanity. Seeing people overdose and die in the street and people just walk around them. New condos with homeless mothers living right underneath. People are so disconnected now

[@shumeister1059]

SF use to be magical in the 90s, and it slowly died along 2006. I realized I couldn't have a real conversation except with folks that used to live in SF. All the charm and people that SF was known for just vanished with tech blandness take over.

[@theprogrammer32]

When you try to plant some trees but end up documenting the city's economic and homeless problems

[@classicalroach]

God you should be a botany professor. I'd go back to school just to sign up for your class.

[@allgodsnomasters2822]

he is doing it right now on youtube lol

[@PuFFerTV98368]

All Gods No Masters Hello 👋 I was reading comments and saw your reply and noticed your channel name. So I hoped on over to your home page. Subscribed , after I finish watching this video I will check out your channel more. Be Well and have a nice day.

[@shepdgc.og.soldier7732]

I don’t blame you for removing stupid comments. Actually I’m surprised you even allow comments. What you do is appreciated friend,all of it...thank you.

[@onyxrafle8066]

What were people commenting?

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

I catch shit from both the extreme left and the extreme right - basically the modern political toilet culture of this country - but this video seemed to really upset everybody from xenophobes, to climate deniers, to those who hate the homeless... Basically all the obsolete angry middle-aged men in this country. Very amusing and even hilarious but it gets tiring after a while... Just becomes the same personality clone redundantly commenting after a while.

[@sietuuba]

@@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt You're doing great, thank you for posting these! I for one really appreciated this insight and I've never even been to that hemisphere. Well, maybe once but just barely to the west of the Greenwich meridian.

[@gabrielledragonfly4525]

I grew up in a similar environment, the weeds do give you hope, their existence is a silent, small, but powerful rebellion. Thank you for sharing! 💚

[@xenophagia]

"It's a very succulent bastard" 😂 Idk why that made me laugh so damn hard.

[@anthrogal19]

Your points about homelessness and landlords making money for nothing, it’s so horrible and unjust. Keep educating people. Also thanks for acknowledging the native people.

[@rhodesianwojak2095]

@CR100026740 big thonk

[@alexandervecris1679]

@@Nov1706 you don't need to be a dick, just explain your point of view

[@ubik_3786]

Only The Best 10 Minute Loops Except they do make money for nothing and there’s no such thing as the ‘poor mindset’, or at least not the way you’re using it

[@kendranielson5051]

@@Nov1706 is right, guys. Sometimes the landlord has to come fix the sink!

[@Desi-qw9fc]

Kendra Nielson often they try to get out of fixing the sink by blaming you for the damage, that’s always fun

[@mfhex1398]

You are actually showing some real problems others wont show, offering some profound insight on the side. Dying empire indeed, too few of your kind over there..

[@mfhex1398]

@Big Hosafat I actually did not exclude European history, most Europeans are well aware about what total destruction looks like. I am happy that most countries there actively remember and teach their history, and most of the Europeans will gladly discuss and share. No need for your "whataboutism" when in fact I am talking about this video, which shows a true side of the US - If it does exist or has existed in other places is irrelevant. If in fact there were "plenty" of informed and decent people, and plenty being the majority, there would not be criminal in the highest office.

[@nogman2]

@@ApocalypseStyle socialist revolution

[@lucard5252]

@@nogman2 hell yeahh

[@taxiuniversum]

ApocalypseStyle The solution is, technically, to identify the problems, then solving them. Reckless shortsightedness, greed and selfishness is what caused this. I shy away from ideologically charged terms like socialism, but I definitely can state that a system, that is more holistic, and that looks at overall outcomes more will alleviate a lot of the shit we are seeing now. Out of bounds selfishness should rightfully be recognized as the psychological disorder that it is - and those, who amass financial wealth this way should be set boundaries, instead of getting idolized, as sadly still is happening in America and elsewhere.

[@nogman2]

@@taxiuniversum Nice answer. Only thing i would like to point out is that, although you may prefer to avoid discussions in ideological terms and focus on technical solutions to problems, ideologies still exist. What is defined as "a problem" to be solved and what is considered "inevitable" or the "natural order of things" is, at any moment, in any society, a ideological choice. The "technical" solutions are selected according to ideological outlooks and implemented by real persons with their own ideological view of the world. Tl;dr: the future of mankind is either socialism or barbarism

[@TheNaFun]

"Well it's the landscape of the Anthropocene, you can expect to see more of it" Preach

[@DesireeEvans15]

I need to show this to my Canadian family (I’m a resident in both BC and the Bay) who WILL NOT listen to me when I say the vast majority of people in California are struggling. You, sir, are a local hero by the way-I love what you do. PS: Thanks for the info on the fennel! I always wondered what they were, I mistakingly thought they may be yarrow PS 2: I’ve done work ripping up the invasive grasses and planting native ones along a river in Contra Costa county. I’d love to do it again.

[@xXEvangelXx]

Three years later and its only gotten worse. So much worse.

[@water-dy5uu]

i haven't heard real people talk in a while, thank you

[@GoodnightMoon666]

"There's not a degree of sypathy of course, people just want them gone. It's just a very bleak uh - well it's the landscape of the anthropocene and you can expect to see more of it, but look at this fennel though!" Talk about juxtaposition.

[@hyperflares2879]

It's not that the poor and homeless don't care, it's that they don't have any resources...

[@crouton3455]

The only reason people are poor is because they have no money and the rest of society doesn't seem to give a fuck.

[@TheFuzzieWuzzie]

Crouton ~ Are there large homeless populations in Europe due to economic displacement? I’m genuinely curious if anyone knows.

[@pogogo51]

It's genuinely hard to give a shit after a while. After a few months of everyone who walks by radiating hatred at you for existing it's like "oh you want me to clean up after myself, AND after everyone else throwing trash and pissing everywhere, all for the privilege of being the scum of the earth anyway?" Of course there's also the fact that $20 spent on brooms, trash bags, bleach etc is $20 not spent on food.

[@zachmiller9175]

@@TheFuzzieWuzzie ive heard czech republic has a lot of them that mooch opium from the farmers poppy fields. Also heard of a lot of them in the UK. Thats not usually the kind of information that gets exported.

[@janek49]

Worldwide statistics on homelessness by country - interesting. homelessworldcup.org/homelessness-statistics/

[@CITYBORNDESERTBRED]

I wish there was a “How to” in your playlist. I know, grab a book.. grow the seedings, plant it right.. but a detailed account of how to be an ecological renegade I think would be transformative.

[@TheBackyardScientist]

Start by getting iNaturalist app, identifying and log plants in your area and reading all about them! Then over time you learn what grows where and what environments they like.

[@jamesdriscoll9405]

@@TheBackyardScientist Press books are a nice way to collect samples as well.

[@demontea7235]

Get to know some natives and just do things like spread seeds plant them ect. Or mushrooms you can take one and smash it on different debris that looks like they grew from. Cones u can burry up fright half way in the ground i think similar to acorn type seeds. Or take home grow seedlings and plant

[@ChibiSilverWings]

I agree with the iNaturalist suggestion, great app to start learning what grows around you. State Universities and state wildlife departments usually have websites about local plants and at least SOME info, but they’re not extremely convenient to navigate and use. Check your county, many have native plant sales for cheapish to get more native plants out there. Colleges and libraries sometimes do as well. The folks who work at our local ones are super excited to share knowledge and help you learn the conditions the plant needs to thrive, ie how tall they grow, how much shade they like etc. If you’re working on the very cheap side, etsy has lots of people who sell native plant seeds for cheap, or you can learn to spot a few native plants and then come and collect seeds yourself in fall. Here’s a nice useful plant site navigation for the Midwest! www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-and-plant-advice/tree-species-list/filters

[@Tomartyr]

Actually he did, it's called 'Tony Santoro's Guide to Illegal Tree-Planting', it's how I found this channel.

[@taylorhorne6645]

This is my new favorite content. Just bought an unauthorized forestry hoodie. I'm going to college to study landscape architecture with the hopes of using what I learn to re-wild the landscapes that humanity has fucked over, break the mold of what landscape architecture has looked like until today. The natural flow of things creates landscapes that are always more beautiful than anything we could come up with. Keep on keeping on, man. The world needs a million more people like you.

[@beyondthesea663]

This is the most fascinating shit I've seen in a long time

[@bevwest7428]

You can say that again!

[@markbosky]

"I know there's a lot of angry grandpa's out there."

[@truvelocity]

Everything you’re saying out loud is how I think. Thank you for making me feel like I’m not alone.

[@Guppyg53]

I was homeless, living in a car with my fiance. For 6 months. We both had full time jobs.

[@Alex-ki1yr]

+

[@surrealducks]

+

[@africanelectron751]

Hope you escaped to someplace nice

[@lucasprzybyla7084]

Jesus... Where did you cook/do laundry/shower/all that stuff?

[@makemeajmod]

@@lucasprzybyla7084 my guess would be they used a gym membership for showers. Laundromat are still a thing, granted im not sure how much they charge. And for food probably ate out there might be decent street food vendors.

[@mrkazman]

I'm from the Eastern Australia, thank you for teaching me about Phylodes, and sorry to hear that they are invading Calidornia. If I remember right, they are fast-growing but don't get very tall, so they like to have a bushfire every few years to clear out the gum trees that start to shade their canopy. Aboriginal land management typically called for annual or 2-year burnings to get grassland, every 3-4 years for Acacia, and leave it for 10 for full gumtrees. Land left longer than that was called "old man forest" and was usually what happened in an area where the local caretaker was either dead or otherwise not managing that area. These guys knew their stuff and were able to tailor not only where the fires went, but where they would stop and even how HOT the fires would burn. You don't want them too hot or all the regrowth will die in the soil.

[@NotSoCrazyNinja]

I just want to say that I love how you plant plants in areas that need it, whether it's legal or not to do so. The world could use more beauty and plants can help provide some. There's nothing as depressing as the concrete jungle. Every patch of dirt needs some plants. In the city I live in, there is already a lot of plants, but the next nearest city is quickly becoming just another concrete jungle devoid of beauty. I might have to make some trips there to do some planting myself.

[@joemeyers4131]

They push not planting plants in my small town. It's people that nickpick any beautiful thing or green thing that doesn't look dead . They thus don't plant things around and some locals that didnt stay long whine about any tree planted in some yard that looks shady and green . I mean as the kinds in city of LA ( CA) that never hurt anything on lawns . They want a town barren looking . The thing I dislike about the community. Green is bad here , like why ?

[@christopheles]

I can't stop watching. What an amazing balance of social commentary and botany that I never knew I needed!

[@cynergy4]

It has been determined that one needs to make at least $50 an hour to afford rent in L.A. County. People that have lived, gone to school and worked here for our whole lives can no longer afford to live in our hometowns. It's very sad. So many are working good jobs and being forced to live in their cars or on the street that it's mind boggling! Don't get me started, hehe! The dreaded Arundo, arghhhh!

[@listerinestrips1156]

hahaha arundo donax is a good source of dmt!!!!

[@rachiesayd9423]

@@listerinestrips1156 is it really? Well then, DMT for everyone!!!

[@listerinestrips1156]

@@rachiesayd9423 all ya gotta do is so a bit of research...yes..type in arundo donax in google and pull up wiki..should be in details

[@rachiesayd9423]

@@listerinestrips1156 Gee why didn't I think of that? Thanks!

[@listerinestrips1156]

@@rachiesayd9423 lol who knows...there are many books with information on plants as well...good luck and happy tripping!! wonder if the dmt trip is anything like a salvia trip..

[@yungcat-q5b]

is that a ruler tattooed on your finger? That's genius!

[@Ezekiel_Allium]

I love the idea of utilitarian tattoos, and that certainly a great one

[@ManiacalViolet]

@@Ezekiel_Allium I frantically googled "utilitarian tatoos"

[@FirstDagger]

@@ManiacalViolet ; What did your research yield?

[@jeremiahmiller5412]

@@FirstDagger www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/tv9z5/what_is_the_most_useful_tattoo_you_can_think_of/

[@andreahighsides7756]

Tommy Salami Look into scarification. Body markings without metal inks

[@rfmerrill]

"Some techno ravers were havin some parties in der" I was one of them haha! :D I knew the neighborhood immediately as soon as I saw that freeway interchange at the beginning of the video. I was like "Man this part of chicago looks a lot like west oakland"

[@leila-mv4zm]

I cannot express how happy I am to find an anarchist talking botany Bostonian. You're cool, people like you make people like me feel a little less alone. Thanks for doing ya thing.

[@bleachno9]

I love these urban videos a lot, probably because a neglected urban wasteland is what I grew up around and I wondered wtf the plants all around were

[@flamomo]

Man you are right about those invasive acacia being able to destroy a house, they grow so fast! Three 70ft line my neighbors driveway and they have clogged our sewer pipes and damaged all of the pavement, I kinda admire their strength but definitely an invasive to keep in check

[@june3732]

Good point, never thought about it till now.

[@listerinestrips1156]

lol let the plants overtake the house!!!

[@Cakefangs]

I used to run my dog along Wood street 10-20 years ago when that was my ‘hood. Train security was better at its job then apparently, I got chased off a couple times trying to find where the pacific tree frogs were singing from. Now I know, thank you

[@kaitlinmcsweeney]

Thank you for this video. I live a few blocks from where you filmed this (not in a hard drive). So much is fucked up and yet it is strangely comforting to see/hear you walking through and acknowledging the bleakness. So many just ignore it, it makes me feel insane sometimes. I mean I get it, it’s hard. But Jesus I guess I feel like I can’t just ignore it. The homeless, the lack of plants, garbage....I’ve thought about making/helping make raised beds or something for the homeless encampments. Good to see they have some things growing.

[@anastasijahabarova1533]

"A freeze-dried rat, that's quaint!" Omfg... I love this channel!

[@teagancombest6049]

I think this should be called "cryptobotany". The study of hidden and overlooked habitats.

[@rudimentaryganglia]

Cryptobotany isn't a good word for it.Crypto as a prefix means it doesn't actually exist hence cryptozoolgy.Just hidden habitats is a good enough description

[@georgesconyers9769]

Not a Latin student, but a bit of dictionary digging makes me think of a better Latin root. Praeterbiology. Maybe butchering the latin, but "praeter" means to omit, neglect, or to pass over. The plants aren't hidden, nor are they truly forgotten. If they were forgotten, people would be surprised to discover grass growing in sidewalk cracks. Nobody forgot plants grow, they just don't care. They pass them by without care. Also, since this is studying passed over plants growing under over passes, it gets points for puns. That being said, I suspect this would be regular biology impacted by urban development. Should entirely new forms of life evolve to live in mega cities (we're getting there. Life adapts as shown, but soon enough some species will only be able to live in the concrete jungle.), then we might see a properly named subfield. Most likely with the "urban" root.

[@mitchspurlock3626]

Scientists have a term they are called "novel ecosystems" meaning each one is unique dependant on how theyve been managed and whats been introduced.

[@brendanpeck6121]

@TERFs don't deserve basic rights, and yeah a cryptic species is an overlooked species. This would work.

[@Lactuca]

Cryptogamic botany is the old term for mycology

[@jizzer6969]

"Look at that...a freeze dried rat. Ain't that quaint!"...😆👍

[@thelukeewan7602]

I have a sling shot and make mudball ammo filled with native seeds of flowers and shit and fire it into desolet areas so that the bees and other cool life can have something to help keep our world going. I love what you do ! Johnny apple seed wass a favorite storey of mine. Thank you for all your hard work. You are a hero to our world !

[@brendafallos3796]

Love it! Thanks for the awesome idea.

[@germcampbell9469]

Hell yea buddy I'm going to do the same !! Love it

[@isaacricks2552]

That's pretty cool dude

[@rhodesianwojak2095]

Hm

[@farmgirlre4634]

Actually at some USFWS Centers they give you mudballs with native plant seeds for you to throw as you walk through the areas. Fun!

[@Wonderhussy]

I know he's putting on a thick accent to be funny, but the fact that he maintains it while still ad libbing so eloquently and wittly amazes me! Joey, you are an American treasure!

[@germaniagarmania6138]

This video represents the best of youtube: talking about the natural enviroment, observing what man and our activities have done to it, from the highway to invasive species; a real documentary length; a nerd with a mobster accent ( well, I am german, and I noticed it, soooo - pretty obvious); but tattoed with a scale on his finger... this is great on so many levels; if you don't see it, analyzise it again, its worth it!

[@tadsklallamn8v]

Aloha Joey, acacia is also endemic to Hawai'i, acacia koa is extremely culturally significant to native Hawaiians

[@4jeg]

“...the last throes of the Anthropocene.. hey look, it’s a fennel!” Awesome work man. For the rent: It’s fueled by the offshore stolen money from wherever fueling the real estate market. It’s just landing here. That’s driving up the prices big time. All fueled by the rich not paying their taxes. Keep it up.

[@WoodenHooligan90]

I live in the neighborhood behind that railroad track at the end. Got a mulberry tree, a couple of pomegranate trees and a ton of other crazy weird stuff. PEACE

[@farmgirlre4634]

make jelly from the fruits!

[@WoodenHooligan90]

@@farmgirlre4634 I would but sadlu they got small worms in them.

[@usa_dumpsterfire]

"back when I used to drink this used to be a wonderful place to watch the sunset" poetry

[@dougcraig6922]

Please keep making more videos like this!!!! I'm a graduate student in city planning and I found your commentary extremely insightful

[@romulus_]

"signs of an empire in decline..." :zips over to the emeryville target parking lot: aaaand here's the london plane tree. it also sucks.

[@maraz666]

This guy is the AvE of plants.

[@Galdenberry_Lamphuck]

I NNOW RIGHT I found ave a month ago and then KZbin's like "you like Canadian engineer, how about Brooklyn botanist.

[@roacher2148]

I was thinking the same thing!

[@jroberts1734]

Good call..lol

[@africanelectron751]

Passion and a sense of humor....

[@therivergod849]

Yep. Heard AvE reference this channel on his video about Uranium ditch mining while camping.

[@forty9r9r7]

Idk if anything is more dystopian than cops in nissan leafs (leaves???) kicking out the homeless...

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Cops in armored humvees would be more dystopian. The Nissan leaf bit just adds a bit of dark satire.

[@ManiacalViolet]

@@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt I wanted to thank you so much for what you do. I have never been West of the Mississippi, but have spent over a decade exploring areas like this in New England. I used to hand out Narcan in tent cities in places like this. I have always loved and studied graffiti, and loved plants, but never have I considered that overlap in the spaces these two things inhabit. I said in my other comments but will say again here... You are the shaman we need during late stage capitalist fascism. ACAB. 1312.

[@garethbaus5471]

I wasn't expecting that part.

[@junkettarp8942]

Tony ,you must be some kind of a Saint or something... I tell you every time you come on our feed ,we put the beer down and watch and listen and than we get off the lounge ,go outside down the dam...No one in our history could ever have achieved that.....Amazing....Cheers mate....You are AwEsOmE.

[@redlily8101]

Finally, a plant guy who speaks fast enough to keep me engaged! Very interesting, thank you. And yes, it is very sad to see our future. I don't mind the swearing, sometimes it is necessary.

[@BillBondsHasAPosse]

As a fellow horticulturalist this channel is awesome! Good stuff bro

[@joannmicik1924]

Neoliberal capitalism at its absolute "best." You're fighting the good fight, keep speaking truth to power.

[@expressionoffreedom7165]

If it wasn't for democrats, republicans wouldn't have anyone to hire? Lazy fucking republicans never do shit.

[@justmadethistocomment9505]

@Bryan Slankster lol someone doesn't know what neo-liberalism means. You just named two neo-liberal parties

[@joannmicik1924]

The GOP is a neo-liberal party

[@foobargorch]

i was genuinely looking forward to your take on urine as a part of the nitrogen cycle and the niches that are rich in this valuable resource

[@kristinkulman3221]

Dude, I read that Finnish scientists use pee-infused compost as a cheap nitrogen-rich fertilizer.

[@foobargorch]

@@kristinkulman3221 cool! on what kind of scale? what makes it cheap? (i imagine collecting it isn't as streamlined a process as haber-bosch ;-)

[@kristinkulman3221]

Oh, I think you know more about this than I do. It's cheap because "I pee freely". It's DIY. Wood Ash and tomatoes blogs.scientificamerican.com/news-blog/p-is-for-plants-human-urine-plus-as-2009-09-04/ Compost and cabbage www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071008093608.htm Somewhere I read that the ammonia breaks down in the top 1-2 inches of the soil because of sun exposure. I'm going to try it with charcoal. My plan is to recycle those big plastic containers with the screw in lids that restaurants use for oil ~20"x20"x30". Clean all the oil out. Add charcoal. Then add the pee as I go along. The lids seal well. (So far I only made a charcoal retort and some charcoal).

[@kristinkulman3221]

[You could easily get some urban wood ash by burning pallets and grabbing the nails out of the ashes with a magnet].

[@8ftbed]

foobargorch The Power of Piss is no joke! The main caveat is (like with other high test nutes), don't douche drought stressed turf or plants or it burns them up. Stroll your hood, noticing the base of signs and fire hydrants. Grass is vigorous and dark green, even when it hasn't rained or the homeowner doesn't water. Dogs on walks. You can generally tell who has a dog, especially if all they do is keep the grass cut. It will be littered with dark green spots from when they let Fido out for a leak. My education started when I put a bucket in the back of the garage to pee in, and instructed visitors (beer drinking in driveway) to do the same. You can sling a full bucket out across the grass and in a week or two notice a more vigorous, darker green swath. One winter I was pretty toasted (dont drink anymore) and bucket was full. I remember my drunken self telling my buddy I was foliar feeding one of my young, favorite ice blue spruce specimens. Yeah, well that golden shower burn the piss out of it and I almost lost it. 😡😂

[@nathanielpaige9378]

Its great hearing someone speaking with knowledge on the homeless issue on the west coast. I'm from the bay area and now live in Oregon, the housing crisis is getting ridiculous up here as well.

[@zozzy4630]

"It's not just one flower - it's composed of dozens upon dozens of tiny flowers inside of that central inflorescence, the central flower head, which is called the capitula in the sunflower family. And those little spikes on the side are called the phyllaries, remember, and the whole mass of the phyllaries is the involucre. Anyway, the important thing to know about this is, this is supposedly a very good treatment for ass rashes." I love your style, man. Keep it up!

[@rickobrien1583]

"I'm just a low class bastard" I had to have just taken a big gulp of coffee. LOL what a f-ing mess you got me.

[@loganaymond4996]

Im legit thinking of going to school for botany because you make it seem amazing.

[@ViewingChaos]

Follow your dreams- we need more care for people and the environment....

[@kaelynnehernandez9179]

I can listen to this guy throw shade left and right all day 😂😂👏

[@queenieevergreen]

Just found your channel and I have to say, this is an excellent video. First and foremost, I wanted to thank you for creating it. I, most importantly, appreciate the bleak, but appropriate tone you had throughout. As insane as it may be, many people just have no idea what it LOOKS and SMELLS like, as they have never actually even been exposed to this particular type of modern tragedy. Videos like this are crucial for people to gain that understanding. We cannot move forward until people stop denying reality. To turn a blind eye and ignore it, is to become an accomplice in it. Thank you. ❤

[@_Chessa_]

Found a beautiful rose in the tiniest crack of asphalt and concrete. It was amazing. Looked rather store bought too with the way the flower bloomed a big pink flowery head. It was beautiful. Unfortunately only survived a month and a half before it disappeared from the crack. Weeds were dead near it from weed killer too. So sad it wasn’t left alone. :( I’m a plant amateur and really learned a lot about plants from you so thank you so much. Enjoyed every bit of this video and will rewatch many times to try and remember the beautiful plants you talked about. Especially the sunflower family and even the invasive grass families. Such a treat to see others care so much about the little green we have left in our concrete asphalt jungle. Thank you dearly.

[@NewMessage]

Great. Now my OCD's gonna make me say "Evenin', Primrose." every time I see one.

[@tomtrask_YT]

10:30 - The horse graffiti! Jeez. Memories. I remember when there were still gaps on lower Market St in SF and the horse graffiti in the the vertical surfaces facing those gaps. That really was a good artist.

[@rgzhaffie]

This guy loves plants, and recites poetry in prose form about them, but hates the ffffing bourgeoisie, and that's why I like him.

[@combatgirl38]

Yours is Exactly the kind of content I need right now! It's the same here in Minneapolis and you can find me having conversations about the socioeconomic downfall of quality of life while pointing out Pursilane growing from a crack in the parking lot! I Adore You, thanks for nourishing my atrophied soul!!!

[@djgovan4422]

The reality is these places are habitat and seeing those species that "thrive" in Urban ecology is interesting , personally the resilience of nature is awe inspiring both the flora and the fauna and the toxic environments that they can acclimatise to is pretty bloody impressive. The flora that survives in the city that my daughter lives in , in one of the grimmer areas is impressive especially along the walls road verges and the rail road track which she has lived literally right next to for the last four years. Also here in the UK there are active programmes to plant native wild species on roadside verges , roundabouts junctions and central reservations creating wild life corridors... all good stuff. Personally littering of any kind is the thing that raises my blood pressure and the level of obnoxious language that I am inclined to spew forth from full scale dumping to dropping litter in the street. Here we have community litter picking programmes where community members like myself volunteer to clear litter. Personally any plant is better than concrete and tarmac and I quite like London planes controversial I know but they do have their charm.

[@teagancombest6049]

Here in Detroit, the abandoned homes and foreclosed businesses provide a great habitat for smooth sumac!

[@mixolydian2010]

Even more depressing than Requiem for Detroit. The state of the US rarely makes it over here in the UK, capitalism out of control. I think the deregulation started with Reagan there and Thatcher here and we have had boom bust bust ever since. We have been in recession for around 10 years. But as a headline here put it, after a huge bar bill of £30000 for 12 or so city hotshots, recession what F*****G recession. Its one rule for the oligarchs and one for us! Also shocking is the droughts you suffer there. Where i live it rains all the time and as i speak we are having floods! Take care everyone. The social contract is broken.

[@rachiesayd9423]

Yes that is the point in history I think this "modern" era began!

[@jxarthur]

"The landscape of the anthropocene -- you can expect to see more of it."

[@dengueberries]

One of the best videos I've seen. Educational, intriguing, thought provoking

[@bikerjohn]

Brilliant! The narrator is knowledgeable, perceptive, entertaining, and verbally eloquent.

[@edwardweisenburg6585]

Love the botany of the bleak series. Fantastic. Plant some fruit trees so the homeless can eat . And the rats won't die lonely alone next to the railroad tracks eating glyphosated botanicals.

[@rhodesianwojak2095]

@@wildedibles819 nice channel name

[@virgiltibbs6971]

I wasn’t into botany until I found your channel. It’s the best

[@sazji]

The condos next to the train station looks like what they’re changing Seattle into.

[@travisgartside409]

Lived in Snohomish county my whole life, and I agree. Alot of areas seem to be adopting that SoCal trash look.

[@mitragenius2437]

I live in a shitty SoCal neighborhood and those condos are going up everywhere. Rents gone up $100 a year since I moved here.

[@rflair]

Building this shit everywhere, east coast too.

[@audreycermak]

The people who can't afford the west or east coasts are moving to Nashville and developers are building those ugly condos that native Nashvillians can't afford.

[@MirasaurusRex]

And Minneapolis. And Denver. Those ugly fuckers are everywhere.

[@altifinn]

This episode is a bummer, but since living in the bay now for 6 years, I live for all your hot takes. I hate those condos so fucking much. Most of them sit vacant because the only fuckers who can afford them are foreign investors. But also, you pointing out all the plant life thats in this part of West Oakland also helps put a smile on my face every time I'm in the neighborhood, or even just passing over it in Bart.

[@thezikaz]

This is an episode I have been waiting for. Your social commentary is always enlightening and hearing you talk about the concrete jungle makes me feel like we are the beautiful plants growing in the asphalt cracks of society. My friend turned me on to permaculture and native plants and since then the philosophy has grown into much the rest of my life. Big truth, big love. Thanks for everything.