Swale Food Forest

The Swale Food For­est con­tin­ues the work of the Swale Float­ing Food For­est and wel­comes vis­i­tors to har­vest herbs, fruits and veg­eta­bles for free. Swale Food For­est con­tains peren­ni­al edi­ble and pol­li­na­tor gar­dens. It hosts Restora­tion Fort, a plant­ed med­i­ta­tion space by Ash­ley Palmer, and a pol­li­na­tor dye gar­den by Tes­sa Grun­don on a berm. The food for­est also hosts soil reme­di­a­tion projects sup­port­ed by Urban Soils Institute’s Project Soils ini­tia­tive, includ­ing Dirt­ball Hoop by Kos­mol­o­gym; and Mil­pa, a project by Kather­ine Patiño Miran­da and Lisa Blood­good. It also includes a 30 foot pic­nic table invit­ing the pub­lic to enjoy pro­duce from the food for­est and open con­tain­er seat­ing as an invi­ta­tion to stay a while or con­vene for work­shops. Swale has worked with Ser­vices for the Under­served and Pub­lic Art Action to build the Swale Food For­est. Major Fund­ing for the Swale Food For­est is pro­vid­ed by Crossed Pur­pos­es Foun­da­tion Inc., whose mis­sion is to sup­port social­ly and polit­i­cal­ly engaged art. 

Swale con­tin­ues to pro­mote Pub­lic Food through advo­ca­cy, build­ing edi­ble land­scapes, and edu­ca­tion­al pro­gram­ming stress­ing how impor­tant it is for more peo­ple to be involved in address­ing food as a commons. 

Learn more about the Swale House in Nolan Park