On a blustery February evening, after nearly five months of encampment, Occupy Iowa City began the final stages of it’s effort to clean up College Green park. The cleanup began following an order by the City Council to vacate their encampment.

“Everybody feels disappointed, but this is not unexpected,” Allison Clark, one of the activists who played a large roll in the upkeep of the park, said.

The Occupiers were originally permitted to keep their encampment, after applying for and receiving a four-month permit to stay on the park’s premises. The Occupiers attempted to renew the permit, but it was rejected by the city council, citing damage done to the greenery on the park, and the fact that the Occupation prohibited the use of the park by the general public. After hearing the verdict, the members of Occupy Iowa City decided not to appeal the decision.

“We expected to make it this far. We hoped it would have turned out differently, but closing down the encampment is a necessary next step [for the movement],” Clark said.

At the time of the end of the Occupation, between fifteen and twenty people were residing in the park. However, a large number of these people were homeless who, in the words of Clark, “didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

However, many occupiers remain optimistic about the future prospects of the organization.

“Not having to maintain a physical occupation will help us to enact change without having to worry about the logistics of having to maintain camp,” Clarke said. “We will still hold GAs (general assemblies), and we will continue to have study and working groups.”

For the time being, the Occupation has taken to meeting at the Unitarian Universalist Church, the Peace Center, and the Public Library. There is also a teach-in planned for March 29th, and activities are expected to continue into the summer.