The Resiliency Institute is growing food security and community resilience through the establishment of edible forest gardens. We are teaching people how to replace resource intensive lawns with permaculture edible forest gardens to restore ecosystems, grow food for people and animals, and create nourishing community spaces that build resilience.
EDIBLE FOREST GARDEN BENEFITS
- Provides fresh local food to the community
- Demonstrates a commitment to food security and ecological restoration
- Reduces or eliminates lawn maintenance costs
- Creates a community park
- Serves as an outdoor classroom & educational resource
- Connects people to food and nature
- Builds community resilience & inspires development of more edible forest gardens
The Resiliency Institute sees a new suburban reality where underutilized and resource intensive lawns are converted into productive and abundant edible forest gardens growing fresh, nourishing fruits, nuts, vegetables, and herbs for public consumption. Fruit and nut trees have supported human nutrition for thousands of years, but as the population has urbanized, people have lost touch with their food sources - even the ones that grow right in their front yards. The Resiliency Institute's Growing Food Security program aims to change this by bringing tree based food gardens back into communities and reconnecting people with their food sources.
The pleasure of picking a ripe pear, peach or persimmon from a tree in your yard or neighborhood forest garden is not just a sweet seasonal joy. It also offers fresh and nutritious food to communities that may lack ready access to quality produce. It educates people about food sources and growing cycles, and about basic tree biology and agriculture. It brings neighbors together to dig and plant and prune and harvest, and to enjoy the delicious bounty of their trees. It engages residents to alter their landscape, turning vacant lots and derelict spaces into beneficial edible gardens that can help turn a neighborhood around.
