Hazelwood Concept Map created by Michelle Czolba and Juliette Jones (click to enlarge).
On Oct 16th Juliette Jones, Hazelwood resident, and Michelle Czolba, a native Pittsburgher, co-founders of Pgh Food Forests, received a Seed Award from the Sprout Fund. This monetary award will be used to plant a Food Forest on Second Avenue in Hazelwood in the spring of 2010, thus transforming a vacant lot into productive green space.
A Food Forest is a garden with fruit and nut trees, in addition to the flowers, vegetables and herbs found in traditional gardens. They are beautiful places for people to gather. Food Forests are designed to grow the way that nature intended, with the plants each serving a purpose and taking care of each other. They grow vertically, as a forest, with tall trees growing above shrubs and low-growing plants. These spaces are sometimes called Forest Gardens, as nearly all of the trees and shrubs planted grow edible fruits or nuts.
Some of the trees and shrubs included in the Hazelwood Food Forest design include Hazelnuts, Pawpaw, Mulberry, Pears, Plums, Hardy Kiwi, Strawberry and Rhubarb. This is not a complete list, but gives an idea of the variety of food that can be grown in a food forest. Herbs are included in the design along with wildflowers that will attract beneficial insects, butterflies and bees. As young fruit trees do not produce fruit right away, it may take a few years before the planting pays off, yet once established, the Hazelwood Food Forest will provide lots of food and be a permanent fixture in the community.
A detailed design layout for the Hazelwood Food Forest (click to enlarge).
Two workshops will be held in April so that community members can learn more about food forests and how to grow their own, while helping to prepare the soil and plant the fruit and nut trees. The first workshop is scheduled for April 17th and will involve learning about soil and compost and helping to prepare the soil for planting. The April 24th workshop will involve planting the trees and learning more about food forests. Participants will receive a fruit plant to take home! Please check back for more information about these workshops.
Click here to visit the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article.
