Seattle ’s Beacon Forest is the wellness nut ’s equivalent of the chocolate falls room inWilly Wonka and the Chocolate Factory : Everything from the forest ’s canopies to its roots is comestible , fresh , and free . The food forest , sitting two miles from the city center , boasts seven acres of urban garden oasis , and the project is every bit as much of a societal experiment as an agricultural one .
Forest gardening is nothing new ; the pattern dates back to prehistoric time , in the foothills of monsoon regions and in tropical rainfall woods . Forest gardens are still common in tropical region , but it was n’t until the other sixties that Brit Robert Hart pioneered the practice for temperate climates . Hart cultivated a 500 straight cadence woodlet on his farm at Wenlock Edge in Shropshire , England into a model forest garden . The British plantsman mapped out a seven - part blueprint for his garden , and foresee his model in more urban environs , writing :
More than 40 years by and by , Seattle adapted Hart ’s manikin from top ( a canopy of large yield and freak trees ) to bottom ( a erect layer of go up plants and vines ) . Beacon Forest take out from the construct of permaculture : an agrarian school of thought that the woods will be both self - sustaining and perennial . The task , first drawn up in 2009 as the Jefferson Park Food Forest , earned $ 100 thousand from the Department of Neighborhoods in 2011 before the forest ’s groundbreaking ceremony was greenlighted in 2012 .
Phase one of the project keeps the experimental forest at 1.5 Akko , but with Seattle Public Utilities sitting on 5.5 more , the farm may blossom forth to its full 7 acres . Right now , it ’s the U.S. ’s largest food timber on public body politic , though there are other like - minded projection at the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute in Basalt , Colo. and in Northampton , Mass.
With loose fruits and veggies bristle for spare pick , developer do n’t have an answer for foragers who get a little too eager . But Glenn Herlihy , a Beacon Forest committee appendage , told NPR the architectural plan is to produce an abundance of fruits so there ’s enough to go around , and plant “ stealer ’ gardens ” with a few extra seeds .
Beacon Food Forest grows everything from garden - variety apples and Charles Edward Berry to more alien crop like ananas and strawberry guava — reflecting the neighborhood ’s multifariousness . Organizers looked to the community for stimulant : The locale ’s Asian community offered the idea of Asian pears and honeyberries , and European members propose planting medlar trees .
finally , garden plots in the wood will be leased out to local gardeners at ten buck a year , and organizers plan to offer classes on introductory horticulture skills for the damage of a few 60 minutes of military volunteer oeuvre . But the idea of free , fresh food is something everyone can still get behind : even late nighttime initiate Craig Ferguson flip on the idea ina monologue back in March of 2012 . “ In business district L.A. , they are talking about build a woodland like this one in Seattle , " he say . " But instead of count for berry , it ’s kind of like a kissing zoo : you get to hand feed Kardashians . ”
reservoir : National Geographic;NPR;Why Do n’t You Try This;Forbes;Permacultured;Permaculture.tv;Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute;Help Yourself NoHo .
