Community Agroforestry: 11 Forest Gardens Share Secrets
By ATTRA (Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas)
TL;DR: Community agroforestry thrives by adapting lessons from 11 diverse US forest gardens.
- Learn from successful community forest gardens across the US.
- Tailor designs to local climate, soil, and community needs.
- Utilize USDA tools to site projects for maximum food access.
- Engage diverse stakeholders for successful, equitable implementation.
- Multi-format resources support varied learning styles.
Why it matters: Community agroforestry boosts local food access, enhances urban green spaces, and strengthens community bonds, offering a sustainable path to food security.
Do this next: Explore the USDA Food Access Research Lab to identify high-impact locations in your community.
Recommended for: Community organizers, urban planners, and permaculture enthusiasts interested in establishing resilient local food systems.
This practical guide synthesizes insights from 11 community forest gardens across seven regions of the United States, from Boston to Seattle to Miami and beyond, providing comprehensive advice on planning, designing, managing, and maintaining urban agroforestry systems that benefit entire communities. The resource combines stories from diverse locations into 11 videos, five publications, and one podcast, offering multiple formats for learning and inspiration for communities interested in starting similar projects. The guide emphasizes the importance of strategic site selection and planning. The USDA Food Access Research Lab is identified as a valuable tool that helps identify which parts of a city lack access to fresh food, enabling communities to target food forest development where it will have the greatest impact. Additional planning tools help communities identify the best locations for forest gardens and determine appropriate plant compositions that improve the environment, ensure equitable distribution of trees, and secure food access. The multi-format approach to sharing knowledge reflects the diversity of learning styles and community engagement preferences. By presenting information through videos, written publications, and audio content, the resource makes guidance accessible to different audiences and learning preferences. The emphasis on learning from existing successful projects provides practical, tested approaches rather than theoretical frameworks. Each of the 11 community forest gardens studied offers unique lessons about implementation in different climates, soil conditions, community demographics, and urban contexts. The guide recognizes that successful community agroforestry requires understanding local conditions, engaging diverse stakeholders, and adapting approaches to specific community needs and assets. By drawing on experiences from communities across the country, the resource demonstrates that urban agroforestry is viable in diverse settings and that communities can learn from one another's successes and challenges. The guide serves as both inspiration and practical roadmap for communities considering urban agroforestry projects, providing evidence that such initiatives can succeed in various geographic regions and community contexts while addressing local food security, environmental, and social goals.