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P-Patch Community Gardens Beacon Food Forest Community members are developing plans for an innovative food forest along the western slope of the recently expanded Jefferson Park. Development is set to begin for the first phase of the food forest with funding support from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy.
What's New? Beacon Food Forest has been getting lots of love in the past couple of weeks! Check out some of our recent coverage: Into the Woods: Seattle plants a public food forest, Grist The Salt Blog, NPR Nation's Largest 'Food Forest' To Be Built in Middle of Seattle, Forbes Get Involved! Development is just ramping up for the food forest's phase one. The best way to stay informed is through the Beacon Food Forest facebook page. Also, be sure to join the interest list to let us know you are interested in this P-Patch. Outreach Opportunities To ensure that all people from the diverse Beacon Hill neighborhood have the opportunity to be a part of the food forest, DON has hired a number of Outreach Service Providers(OSP) to assist with outreach in various communities. Getting a Garden Plot New garden plots are assigned based on involvement. While the City provides support, new gardens are built by the community. Neighbors come together to envision, design, and eventually construct a unique garden that meets their needs and reflects their neighborhood identity. Thus, community commitment through volunteering is the primary factor in assigning plots in a new garden. If you are interested in getting a plot join the Interest List and please see How Plots are Assigned. History The Beacon Food Forest started in 2009 as a final design project for a permaculture design course. The site chosen is a 7-acre area which is currently all grass, on the western terraced slopes of what was thought to be Jefferson Park but in reality is owned by Seattle Public Utilities. The design was then presented to the community of Beacon Hill, Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, and Seattle Public Utilities to see if there was support for such a project. Support was granted in the form of an SAS grant from Seattle Department of Neighborhoods for $22,000 in December of 2010 to hire a design consultant and create a schematic design for a food forest. In March of 2011 the Friends of Beacon Food Forest hired The Harrison Design Team consisting of Margarett Harrison, Jenny Pell, Dave Boehnlein and Kris Pendleton. After a series of community meetings the team presented a final schematic (viewable here). In December 2011 the project received a $100,000 award from the Parks & Green Spaces Levy for design and construction for a 1-acre portion of the food forest. A Food Forest is a gardening technique or land management system that mimics a woodland ecosystem but substitutes in edible trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals. Fruit and nut trees are the upper level, while below are berry shrubs, edible perennials and annuals. Companions or beneficial plants are included to attract insects for natural pest management while some plants are soil amenders providing nitrogen and mulch. Together they create relationships to form a forest garden ecosystem able to produce high yields of food with less maintenance. Learn more about food forests at the Edible Food Gardens website. FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING THE P-PATCH COMMUNITY GARDENING PROGRAM CONTACT:
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