February 2013
villagevibe News and views from the heart of Fernwood
Forest for the Trees Jenny Pell—designer of North America's largest food forest on public land—shared her wisdom of food forests with Fernwood
›› Azelia Serjeantson
A
n understanding of the importance of food security coupled with the desire to learn more about North America’s largest food forest drew over one hundred attendants to a presentation at the Fernwood Community Centre on February first. The Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre and Fernwood NRG partnered to bring in Seattle-based permaculture designer Jenny Pell of Permaculture Now! to speak about community-driven food security initiatives in Washington and Oregon. Pell asked the audience why “people recognize permaculture designs as good ideas but don’t do anything[?]” She contended that the assumption many have that it can’t be done is inaccurate, listing numerous successful permaculture designs located in cities around the world. In Austria, Vienna’s Hundertwasser entwines colourful apartments and living trees. The famous oranges of Seville, Spain, fill the air with the scent of fresh citrus. Grape vines flourish in a Tokyo train station. Seattle’s unique SEA street project brings a natural drainage system to a residential area, eliminating ninety-eight percent of their stormwater runoff. The Beacon Food Forest, conceived just over two years ago, was initially a final project in a permaculture course taught by Pell. The students were so engaged by the possibilities they applied for funding from the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. After receiving their first grant, the design team, which included Pell and landscape architect Margaret Harrison, created a design based on three public design workshops. The Beacon Hill community of Seattle is one of the most ethnically diverse in the nation. This being the case, the organizers sought input from the residents in an inclusive manner as possible. The team
(Top) Jenny Pell speaking about her permaculture projects in Washington State and Oregon. (Bottom, left & right) Students learning from Pell at the "Design Your Own Backyard Food Forest Workshop" on Saturday, February, 2nd. Photos: Hannah Roessler
mailed more than six thousand postcards in five different languages, had tables at local events and fairs. Translators were hired to help Chinese residents have a say in the planning. When complete, the food forest will encompass seven acres of land and include wetlands, community playfields, a kid’s area, an edible arboretum and, of course, community gardens which already have a wait list three thousand names long. “If we leave Gaia to herself, she’ll do just fine,” commented Pell and explained how food forests illustrate this exquisitely. Food forests imitate a woodland ecosystem but is instead comprised of edible trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals—every plant, every shrub, every tree is mutually beneficial to each other. Their cooperative relationships
maintains the health of the entire system and produces high yields of food with less maintenance than conventional agriculture practices. The Victory Gardens of Britain during the Second World War and the small garden plots which peppered the eastern European countries during the Cold War helped citizens survive years of food shortages. Throughout her talk, Pell approached the concern for increased food security as an opportunity to “live large on a small footprint.” Bringing more gardens, more green into our lives and our communities has proven time and again as opportunities for art to thrive, the strengthening of community ties and the understanding that land stewardship is possible within
Editorial
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Mark Your Calendar
No place to park? page 2
Food Survey page 4
Fairs, Fairs, Fairs page 6
our cities. “Permaculture is one of the most common-sense and creative approaches to designing human settlements in any time, but especially now,” said Pell in a lead up interview to the presentation. This presentation by such a noted food forester is definitely an auspicious beginning to Fernwood’s own foray into food security considering that the installation of the Fernwood Neighbourhood Orchard and Kitchen Garden was announced only late last year in December 2012. With the increasing notice land management issues are getting it could be said that people are finally seeing the forest for the trees. Fortunately for the residents of Beacon Hill in Seattle and here in Fernwood, the forest will be edible.
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