Mount Rainier, Maryland Community Food Forest
Building a sustainable community food forest in our city
By Kathy Shollenberger. Photos by Kelly Lawhorn, Chesapeake Natives There are many varieties of pussytoes; the one in the Food Forest is Parlin’s pussytoes. It’s in the Food Forest because it provides nectar for pollinators and serves as a host plant for the American Lady and Painted Lady butterflies. It shelters the butterfly’s eggs and... Continue Reading →
Design by Torie Partridge By Gabe Popkin Photos by Food Forest Collective members I can't remember how it started, the idea of turning a small, underutilized park into a food forest full of edible plants that would be free to the public. I do know where I got the inspiration: from Lincoln Smith, a landscape... Continue Reading →
With the major work of designing and planting the food forest behind us, and with safe outdoor gatherings again possible, we are now pivoting from creating the food forest to using it. In 2021, we will be hosting a series of work days, workshops and plant swaps the first Saturday of each month. The first... Continue Reading →
On Sunday, September 20, many of those who have volunteered to water, haul mulch, weed, dig, and plant gathered to celebrate our lovely park. Enjoy these photos, from Mimi McKindley-Ward, Barry Stahl, and Kathy Shollenberger. Our new bamboo bower, constructed by Shivali Shah: Socially distanced picnickers: Musical accompaniment: Admiring the park, enjoying the company and... Continue Reading →
Not everything that's going on at the Food Forest is obvious. You have to spend some time there to see the little things. Steve McKindley Ward has noticed many of those little things--little miracles, really--and recorded them. This is probably the coolest. It's called bird's nest fungus; lots of them have come up in the... Continue Reading →
Join us this Saturday, August 1, 9:00-12:00. Come for a little, come for a lot. Spread mulch, move stumps, and/or re-stake and re-net trees and shrubs that are in need of that attention. The photo below shows our original work; in some cases the plants have outgrown their enclosures, so we need to expand their... Continue Reading →
This sign appeared yesterday. How great is that?!
This beautiful wood came from two oaks (one white oak and one Northern Red Oak) on longtime Mount Rainier resident Mark Grisar's property. They fell victim, as did an alarming number of oaks in our region, to the deluge then drought of last spring and summer. These two large, old oaks had witnessed more than... Continue Reading →
Slowing the water Swales are designed to capture water when it rains. A swale slows the water so it doesn't rush off the property -- the water soaks evenly and deeply into the soil, where it can be used by trees and other plants. To create swales in our new food forest, we made raised... Continue Reading →
