VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A youth group is grappling with the destruction of their East Vancouver community garden.

About $30,000 of damage was done to The Purple Thistle‘s ‘Food Forest’ community garden. The group is accusing a neighbouring landlord of destroying their work.

“Now we’re working with the City and we’re hoping that allows for communication to happen,” says Kelsey Corbett, the garden’s youth coordinator.

According to the group the landlord initially gave his permission to use part of his land for the garden. But he apparently didn’t like what he saw, and asked them to leave by November 1.

“On the fifth of November, I got a call from a friend walking by the garden, and they said there were workers, weed-whacking the entire area,” adds Corbett, who says about two years of hard work went into the garden.

She explains The Purple Thistle wants to avoid the courts and hopes to mediate the situation with the city.

Corbett claims neither she nor the City have heard from the landlord since the incident.

The Purple Thistle’s Food Forest is located at Charles St. and Vernon Dr. in East Vancouver.