A parish council has condemned the Just Stop Oil protest at the Chelsea Flower Show by its clerk, who now risks losing her job.
Naomi Goddard was one of three activists from the group who threw dyed orange powder across a prize-winning display garden on Thursday, before being hosed down by a woman believed to be a visitor.
The 58-year-old, who was arrested along with her co-protesters, subsequently said her actions had risked her livelihood, adding: “But it’s what I have to do right now.”
A retired landscape engineer from Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, Ms Goddard now draws an income from her work as clerk to Wadsworth parish council. On Friday insiders at the council suggested her employment was in question as a result of the protest.
One said: “I’d be surprised if anyone on the council supports her actions. She took pre-booked annual leave to go to London. When she returns, we will follow due process.”
Video of the protest showed onlookers begging Ms Goddard and her accomplices to stop, with others shouting “morons” and “prats” at them.
Ms Goddard shouted back: “What is the point of a garden if you can’t feed yourself?”
The RBC Brewin Dolphin Garden was designed explicitly to promote biodiversity and sustainability. The action left a film of orange over much of the foliage and the open space at its centre.
The garden’s designer, Paul Hervey-Brookes, said it was “permanently damaged” as a result.
A separate source at Wadsworth parish council implied that the style of protest would not be popular among local residents. “If you know what kind of place Hebden Bridge is, then you’ll know what people think of this sort of thing,” they said.
Also arrested for the stunt was 35-year-old charity worker Stephanie Golder, who has stood as a candidate for the Green Party in south-east Essex.
She shouted “this is a genocide” as she scattered the orange powder.
The local party did not formally respond to a request for comment.
However, a colleague, Richard Longstaff, the first Green councillor on Southend City Council, suggested the action at Chelsea would not harm her prospects standing again in the future.
“The protest caused no serious damage and minimal disruption,” he said.
The third member of the group was Rosa Hicks, a psychology graduate who works for the Tutor Trust, a grant-making body that supports voluntary and community groups.
**King’s lambs not yet found**
The disruption at Chelsea coincided with a stunt by the protest group Animal Rising which involved taking three lambs from the King’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. It was perpetrated by three women who later handed themselves in to police in Slough.
Imagery released by the group showed three women, in pink Animal Rising T-shirts, walking through a field of sheep and loading the lambs into the back of a vehicle.
Animal Rising said that the lambs would have been sent for slaughter.
On Friday afternoon police said the animals, which were taken from their mothers, had not been found.
Among the Sandringham trio was Rose Patterson, who was last month accused of being the ringleader of Animal Rising’s plot to disrupt the Grand National.
The 33-year-old was arrested in Greater Manchester before the race began. Sara Foy, 23 from Derbyshire, and Rosa Sharkey, also 23, were also arrested.
A statement from Norfolk Constabulary on Friday said that three female suspects had been released on bail.
Sacked from the parish council how will the retiree cope
Actions have consequences. ***Who knew…????***
I remember people here Stamping there feet saying Stop Oil protesters had no jobs, I guess they do
A biologically diverse garden seems like an odd target for a climate activist. It makes me think they’re not really that bright and just want some drama.
“The disruption at Chelsea coincided with a stint by the protest group Animal Rising which involved taking three lambs from the King’s Sandringham Estate”
Are these just the middle to old aged white person equivalent of prank videos?
Whatever the future holds, the people whining about these protests causing mild disruption are going to look like fucking idiots to future generations. Imagine people 100 years in the future looking back on these foolish people with no sense of perspective getting upset by such trivial acts of protest.
I used to think, how the hell did ww2 and the holocaust happen? Why didnt anyone stop it?
Im not confused anymore. Humans ignore things they don’t want to deal with.
Worldwide events that _will_ cause millions to die and billions to lose quality of life is shrugged off as inevitable. The ones killing humanity to make profit barely ever mentioned.
“Oh but its not the perfect solution…” We have known about climate change since 1970. We already know the solution. We need to change our lives. Theres no time for debate.
Why do they target the public instead of messing with oil companies or government people? I get publicity but shutting down an oil terminal for a week will work far better than throwing some paint on flowers or a snooker table
> The garden’s designer, Paul Hervey-Brookes, said it was “permanently damaged” as a result.
The temporary garden was permanently damaged?
I get the protests and the message of the Just Stop Oil protests even though I think they’re starting from the wrong point and essentially doom mongering. What I don’t understand is the backlash against these protests.
I guess this all comes down to how do you want to die. How do you want your children to die?
You see all you people going on about the disruption caused by these protests are missing the point – business as usual is not on the menu.
We’ve just got through a global COVID 19 pandemic. Many people died. But we were lucky because we managed to find and distribute vaccines. Next time there’s a global pandemic, and there will be more, we might not be so lucky. Think about this. All it could take is one more pandemic of a deadly virus and that’s it – the human population on this planet could be wiped out.
If earthworms all died out all life would cease on this planet within a couple of years. If insects died out there would be life for another five years. If human beings all died out this planet would recover, heal, and flourish. Human beings are not necessary or essential to this planet in any way.
We are evolving too fast and consuming too much for this planet to support. Climate change in itself is not the issue here, because climate change goes hand in hand with biological evolution. But what is the issue is the abusive relationship human beings have with the planet, other species and each other. This is what needs to change.
The biggest issue with these protests is that they are anti-aspirational. This isn’t going to work. The amount of plastic, enough to cause a marine extinction event is still out there and people are still using it. But see these are people who are doing something about bringing change. It might be misguided, they might even be wrong, but they’re doing something and most people aren’t.
But like I say business as usual is not on the menu. We either collectively do something ourselves for change or the planet and environment will force change upon us.
The backlash against these protests is something I don’t quite understand. It’s like if you’re smoking two packs of cigarettes a day and a doctor tells you that you’ve got COPD and need to quit smoking. So what? Are you going to argue with the doctor just so you can continue smoking? Are you going to call the doctor an idiot?
They should be done for criminal damage never mind losing their job.
Wait I though you lot were for people loosing their job over political opinions, never mind criminal damage.
ITT: people surprised that fighting for progress means breaking the law and being willing to sacrifice.
Civil protests always hold risk. That’s what makes it a effective protest. Protest without consequences is a circle jerk
15 comments
[Archive Link](https://archive.is/DncEa). Article text follows.
—
By Henry Bodkin, Senior Reporter
A parish council has condemned the Just Stop Oil protest at the Chelsea Flower Show by its clerk, who now risks losing her job.
Naomi Goddard was one of three activists from the group who threw dyed orange powder across a prize-winning display garden on Thursday, before being hosed down by a woman believed to be a visitor.
The 58-year-old, who was arrested along with her co-protesters, subsequently said her actions had risked her livelihood, adding: “But it’s what I have to do right now.”
A retired landscape engineer from Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, Ms Goddard now draws an income from her work as clerk to Wadsworth parish council. On Friday insiders at the council suggested her employment was in question as a result of the protest.
One said: “I’d be surprised if anyone on the council supports her actions. She took pre-booked annual leave to go to London. When she returns, we will follow due process.”
Video of the protest showed onlookers begging Ms Goddard and her accomplices to stop, with others shouting “morons” and “prats” at them.
Ms Goddard shouted back: “What is the point of a garden if you can’t feed yourself?”
The RBC Brewin Dolphin Garden was designed explicitly to promote biodiversity and sustainability. The action left a film of orange over much of the foliage and the open space at its centre.
The garden’s designer, Paul Hervey-Brookes, said it was “permanently damaged” as a result.
A separate source at Wadsworth parish council implied that the style of protest would not be popular among local residents. “If you know what kind of place Hebden Bridge is, then you’ll know what people think of this sort of thing,” they said.
Also arrested for the stunt was 35-year-old charity worker Stephanie Golder, who has stood as a candidate for the Green Party in south-east Essex.
She shouted “this is a genocide” as she scattered the orange powder.
The local party did not formally respond to a request for comment.
However, a colleague, Richard Longstaff, the first Green councillor on Southend City Council, suggested the action at Chelsea would not harm her prospects standing again in the future.
“The protest caused no serious damage and minimal disruption,” he said.
The third member of the group was Rosa Hicks, a psychology graduate who works for the Tutor Trust, a grant-making body that supports voluntary and community groups.
**King’s lambs not yet found**
The disruption at Chelsea coincided with a stunt by the protest group Animal Rising which involved taking three lambs from the King’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. It was perpetrated by three women who later handed themselves in to police in Slough.
Imagery released by the group showed three women, in pink Animal Rising T-shirts, walking through a field of sheep and loading the lambs into the back of a vehicle.
Animal Rising said that the lambs would have been sent for slaughter.
On Friday afternoon police said the animals, which were taken from their mothers, had not been found.
Among the Sandringham trio was Rose Patterson, who was last month accused of being the ringleader of Animal Rising’s plot to disrupt the Grand National.
The 33-year-old was arrested in Greater Manchester before the race began. Sara Foy, 23 from Derbyshire, and Rosa Sharkey, also 23, were also arrested.
A statement from Norfolk Constabulary on Friday said that three female suspects had been released on bail.
Sacked from the parish council how will the retiree cope
Actions have consequences. ***Who knew…????***
I remember people here Stamping there feet saying Stop Oil protesters had no jobs, I guess they do
A biologically diverse garden seems like an odd target for a climate activist. It makes me think they’re not really that bright and just want some drama.
“The disruption at Chelsea coincided with a stint by the protest group Animal Rising which involved taking three lambs from the King’s Sandringham Estate”
Are these just the middle to old aged white person equivalent of prank videos?
Whatever the future holds, the people whining about these protests causing mild disruption are going to look like fucking idiots to future generations. Imagine people 100 years in the future looking back on these foolish people with no sense of perspective getting upset by such trivial acts of protest.
I used to think, how the hell did ww2 and the holocaust happen? Why didnt anyone stop it?
Im not confused anymore. Humans ignore things they don’t want to deal with.
Worldwide events that _will_ cause millions to die and billions to lose quality of life is shrugged off as inevitable. The ones killing humanity to make profit barely ever mentioned.
“Oh but its not the perfect solution…” We have known about climate change since 1970. We already know the solution. We need to change our lives. Theres no time for debate.
Why do they target the public instead of messing with oil companies or government people? I get publicity but shutting down an oil terminal for a week will work far better than throwing some paint on flowers or a snooker table
> The garden’s designer, Paul Hervey-Brookes, said it was “permanently damaged” as a result.
The temporary garden was permanently damaged?
I get the protests and the message of the Just Stop Oil protests even though I think they’re starting from the wrong point and essentially doom mongering. What I don’t understand is the backlash against these protests.
I guess this all comes down to how do you want to die. How do you want your children to die?
You see all you people going on about the disruption caused by these protests are missing the point – business as usual is not on the menu.
We’ve just got through a global COVID 19 pandemic. Many people died. But we were lucky because we managed to find and distribute vaccines. Next time there’s a global pandemic, and there will be more, we might not be so lucky. Think about this. All it could take is one more pandemic of a deadly virus and that’s it – the human population on this planet could be wiped out.
If earthworms all died out all life would cease on this planet within a couple of years. If insects died out there would be life for another five years. If human beings all died out this planet would recover, heal, and flourish. Human beings are not necessary or essential to this planet in any way.
We are evolving too fast and consuming too much for this planet to support. Climate change in itself is not the issue here, because climate change goes hand in hand with biological evolution. But what is the issue is the abusive relationship human beings have with the planet, other species and each other. This is what needs to change.
The biggest issue with these protests is that they are anti-aspirational. This isn’t going to work. The amount of plastic, enough to cause a marine extinction event is still out there and people are still using it. But see these are people who are doing something about bringing change. It might be misguided, they might even be wrong, but they’re doing something and most people aren’t.
But like I say business as usual is not on the menu. We either collectively do something ourselves for change or the planet and environment will force change upon us.
The backlash against these protests is something I don’t quite understand. It’s like if you’re smoking two packs of cigarettes a day and a doctor tells you that you’ve got COPD and need to quit smoking. So what? Are you going to argue with the doctor just so you can continue smoking? Are you going to call the doctor an idiot?
They should be done for criminal damage never mind losing their job.
Wait I though you lot were for people loosing their job over political opinions, never mind criminal damage.
ITT: people surprised that fighting for progress means breaking the law and being willing to sacrifice.
Civil protests always hold risk. That’s what makes it a effective protest. Protest without consequences is a circle jerk