World Naked Gardening Day

World Naked Gardening Day (WNGD)[1] is an annual international event generally celebrated on the first Saturday of May[2][3] by gardeners and non-gardeners alike.[4]

A graphic for a gardening video celebrating World Naked Gardening Day in 2016
World Naked Gardening Day
StatusActive since 2005
GenreAnnual naturism/nudism, gardening, guerilla gardening, permaculture event
Date(s)First Saturday of May
FrequencyAnnually, first Saturday of May
Location(s)International
InauguratedSaturday, September 10, 2005
FounderJacob Gabriel, Liz Miller, and Mark Storey
Most recentSaturday, May 6, 2023
Next eventSaturday, May 4, 2024
Organised byBody Freedom Collaborative
Websitehttp://WNGD.org

Organization

WNGD was founded and organized by Mark Storey (consulting editor for Nude & Natural magazine) and permaculturalist Jacob Gabriel, as a project of Body Freedom Collaborative (BFC).[5] In its early days, Storey had a vision of BFC engaging in "guerrilla pranksterism"[6] such as hopping out of a van or showing up spontaneously in an urban environment and engaging in guerilla gardening.

In the New York Daily News, Storey noted that WNGD is not owned by any one organization. "No particular organization owns World Naked Gardening Day," Storey said, "and it's not actually one large gathering of horticulturists in Seattle who strip down and shear some shrubs together."[7]

While the phenomenon quickly spread internationally, little investment has been made by its founders. "Storey said he and Johnson haven't spent any money or gone to any great lengths to promote World Naked Gardening Day since they initiated it. They helped create a website early on, and then receded into the background. They intended that the idea of an introduction to clothes freedom through gardening was valuable and would grow organically on its own."[8]

WNGD is endorsed by The Naturist Society, Clothes Free International and American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR),[9] among others. As of 2012, Storey is the project lead of WNGD.[2] WNGD is currently a collaborative project of the Naturist Education Foundation, Inc.

The first annual World Naked Gardening Day took place on September 10, 2005.[2] In 2007, the event date was moved to the first Saturday in May; as of 2018, the event still takes place on the first Saturday in May.[10] In 2018, however, the New Zealand Naturist Federation adopted the last weekend in October as World Naked Gardening Day; this date was deemed to be better suited to the climate of the Southern Hemisphere.[11] In Canada, the first Saturday in May can be pretty cool for naked gardening so an alternative date of the first Saturday in June was suggested as the Naked Canadian Gardening Day.

Motivation

According to NBC's Today, WNGD "has become an annual tradition that celebrates weeding, planting flowers and trimming hedges in the buff. While it's linked to a movement of nudists who promote wholesome and unashamed acceptance of the human body, the day is meant to be funny, lighthearted and non-political, founders say."[8]

Organizers assert that "besides being liberating, nude gardening is second only to swimming as an activity that people are most ready to consider doing nude".[12]

Beyond body positivity, Corky Stanton of Clothes Free International, an organization that promotes nude recreation, has asserted that the event offers the "fringe benefits of bare, unabashed recreation: the satisfaction of exercising in the great outdoors; the attractiveness of an all-over tan; more Vitamin D on your whole body; the unbeatable experience of skinny-dipping if the naturist event involves a beach or a lake."[8]

Private vs. public observance

While the event is most often celebrated in secluded areas, BFC first kicked off the event with its trademark "guerrilla pranksterism" and did a photo shoot in a public park. In another year, Storey and Gabriel enlisted the help of local free beach users at an unofficial clothing-optional beach park on Lake Washington, in Seattle.[8] Many people choose not to venture beyond the relative safety of non-public areas.[8] During the fifth annual World Naked Gardening Day in the United Kingdom, celebrated in 2010, organizers encouraged people to go naked either in their private gardens or in public parks.[13]

Media attention

Since the launch of WNGD, its popularity has grown. In 2021, the Orlando Weekly reported[14] that a survey listed Orlando in the "Top 10" places to celebrate World Naked Gardening Day. Other cities included Austin, Seattle, Atlanta, and Portland, Oregon.

See also

References
  1. "Fine Living: Nude gardening buffs exposed". Marin Independent Journal. 2007-05-12. Archived from the original on 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  2. Laura T. Coffey (13 April 2011). "Not dirty to play in dirt on World Naked Gardening Day". MSNBC. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  3. Metropolitan home. Meredith Corp. 2008. p. 64. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  4. "Nude climber craze tipped to take over Britain". The Daily Telegraph. 14 July 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  5. "Body Freedom Collaborative (BFC) - Question Shame". Archived from the original on 12 September 2008.
  6. Nude & Natural (N), Guerilla Nudity/Wave Makers: Introducing the Body Freedom Collaborative by Mark Storey. Issue 23.1, Autumn 2003.
  7. Victoria Taylor (4 May 2013). "World Naked Gardening Day encourages no-pants planting". NY Daily News. Retrieved 17 Feb 2014.
  8. Laura T. Coffey (May 13, 2011). "Not dirty to play in dirt on World Naked Gardening Day: Saturday's global movement celebrates weeding, planting flowers in the buff". Today News. Archived from the original on May 6, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  9. "World Naked Gardening Day: Ready the soil, plant seeds and take off your clothes". Cleveland.com. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  10. Curtis, Abigail (May 2, 2018). "Celebrating World Naked Gardening Day could be good for your health". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, ME.
  11. closed access "Gardening au naturel", Gonatural, New Zealand Naturist Federation (245), June 2018, ISSN 1177-1887, OCLC 173322430, archived from the original on 2020-01-14, retrieved 2018-11-17
  12. "World naked gardening day". The Hamilton Spectator. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  13. "Phwoar-ticultural: It's Naked Gardening Day". Sky News Online. 8 May 2010. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  14. "Orlando ranks as one of the best cities for naked gardening in the U.S." Orlando Weekly. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.

Further reading
  • Nude & Natural 'N' Trends: Let's Have a World Naked Gardening Day by Mark Storey, 25.1, Pgs. 3-5, Autumn 2005. Mark Storey introduces the concept to N readers for the first time, before the event took place on September 10, 2005.
  • Naturist Action Committee (NAC), "WNGD Blooms for a Sixth Year Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine" by Mark Storey, April 2010. newsletter
  • Naturist Action Committee (NAC), Nude & Natural Newsletter, "World Naked Gardening Day 2006 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine" by Mark Storey, August 2006
  • North, Jay. "The Windowsill Organic Gardener: Organic Gardening For The Urban Grower", CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (June 20, 2011)
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