A food forest is a diverse, perennial garden that mimics a forest ecosystem and patterns found in nature. Through layers of design, life extends in all directions producing food, medicine, sanctuary, and habitat.

Food forests incorporate 7 layers of edible plants including fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines, rhizomes, mushrooms, and perennial vegetables. A food forest is thoughtfully designed to produce maximum nutrition, beauty and abundance.

 

Food forests integrate and draw from the disciplines of permaculture, regenerative agriculture, ecology, biology, and other natural sciences. Together, these disciplines create a living set of tools and practices that can help us engage with nature and our food production in a meaningful way.

A diverse community of life can grow in a small space, making food forests especially suitable for urban and suburban environments. At a deeper individual level, the practice of food forestry can help us cultivate ourselves and transform the ways in which we see and live in the world.