The Vancouver native says he has organized smaller projects and donated to Greenpeace, but those efforts weren't meaningful enough.
"I needed to create a personal response to these issues," Thomas said Thursday, standing in front of the Prelude.
For this project, he took four junkers, removed and recycled their engines and planted apple trees, plum trees or rhubarb in their hollowed-out front ends.
The four car gardens have been catching drivers' attention since Friday. When he came up with the idea six weeks ago, Thomas had been pondering what a world that moved away from fossil fuels would look like. As more people switch to bikes and transit, he said, he thought cars could be turned into urban gardens.
"How are we re-purposing things we're not going to have a big need for?" he said. "I think the image speaks for itself."
The gardens were a community effort. Friends donated the cars, art students helped remove the motors, nurseries donated the trees and homeowners gave him permission to park the gardens in front of their houses.
"People want to get engaged with creating their own environment," Thomas said. "They want to get involved in the process."
City councillor Andrea Reimer said as long as Thomas complies with bylaws, the gardens are a good way to get people thinking about the environment. "It's another tool in the tool box of public education," said Reimer, a member of the Green City Action Team. "It's provocative."
Thomas visits his vegetation vehicles every few days to water and prune the trees, and the cars are insured for the next three months. After that, he said, he will pass them into the care of anyone interested.
"My goal would be to have 40 fruit trees planted on a boulevard," he said.
He envisions families out pruning the leaves, sharing recipes for peach cobbler or apple pie with neighbours, and even holding festivals celebrating fruit — all as a part of the greater effort of eating locally and helping the environment.
