Seattle to Install Public Seven Acre Food Forest

I am excited and gladdened to see this NPR feature discussing the creation of a permaculture-designed, free-to-forage public food forest in metro Seattle.  From the piece:

The idea is to give members of the working-class neighborhood of Beacon Hill the chance to pick plants scattered throughout the park – dubbed the Beacon Food Forest. It will feature fruit-bearing perennials — apples, pears, plums, grapes, blueberries, raspberries and more. Herlihy and a team first assembled their vision of a food forest in 2009 as a final project for a permaculture design class.

The project appears to be funded by a combination of public and private donations, including the land the park is to be situated on (donated by a local utility).

In an era in which so much land sits vacant and unused, most especially in areas which could greatly benefit from a local source of fresh, nutrient-dense food, this type of project should serve as a model to communities everywhere.