Welcome Eggleston Park Food Forest

A program of

An educational demonstration showing how to obtain a yield while caring for the earth and people. WHAT IS A FOOD FOREST? THEN AND NOW

A food forest is a reduced-maintenance, Our food forest is a diverse, sustainable food-production system modeled on integrated planting of perennial trees, shrubs and herbaceous natural woodland ecosystems. The goal is a plants—including edible fruits, diverse, high-yield system that is good for vegetables, nuts and herbs— the earth and requires fewer resources and less using permaculture principles. human input than conventional monocultures. It began life as the Eggleston Forest gardening has been around as long as Anniversary Orchard in 2013, humans have farmed. However, recently food a Northwestern student class forest design has evolved to use a permaculture project concept. approach: a well-designed food forest strives to Edible Evanston facilitated its create synergies in which elements nourish, development and maintains it complement and protect each other. Each in cooperation with the City of Evanston. Initial funding element added should serve a minimum of two came from the Evanston useful purposes, and plants fill all layer niches. Community Foundation, which All ecosystems are in a state of constant change. also helped Edible Evanston A permaculture food forest attempts to mimic the transition from a conventional state of a forest when the plants, fungi, animals, orchard to a sustainable, insects have reached a point close to equilibrium ecological edible landscape. but the system still has growth potential to provide us with abundant, diverse yields with few Learn more at external inputs. EdibleEvanston.org Guilds and Layers GUILDS In forest gardening and food forests, we refer to carefully designed, purposeful polycultures as a plant guild. Plant guilds are groups of plants and organisms that occupy a specific ecological niche. Within this niche of specific conditions of soil, water, light, etc., certain plants and organisms work as an integrated group. “Guilds” partition and share resources to minimize competition and create networks of mutual support. 5 Plant guild design is an effort to speed-up nature’s normal succession to quickly create a relatively diverse and balanced, yet highly productive, food system. Guild companion plantings can include fruit Sample and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines and perennial vegetables yielding food or guild design with layer elements materials useful to humans, as well as plants to feed pollinators, to serve numbered other beneficial creatures, and to enrich the soil. Carefully selected plants are intermixed to grow in various vertical layers to build a woodland habitat. LAYERS Nine layers in space and many layers of use 1. Canopy Layer — large, mature trees for timber, nuts, fruit 2. Sub-canopy Layer — lower, smaller trees bearing fruit, nuts 1 3. Shrub Layer — bushes bearing fruit, nuts; hardy herbs 4. Herbaceous Layer — large herbs, vegetables, flowers 5. Ground Cover/Creeper Layer — herbs 6. Underground Layer — root crops, tubers, soil health 7. Vertical/Climber Layer — fruiting vines 2 7 8. Aquatic/Wetland Layer — herbs 3 4 9. Mycelial/Fungal Layer — mushrooms 8 9 5

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Eggleston Park Food Forest Learn more at A program of EdibleEvanston.org Permaculture BASED ON WORK BY DAVID HOLMGREN AND BILL MOLLISON

Permaculture is a design system based on ecological principles. David Holmgren’s definition of permaculture is “Consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fibre and energy for provision of local needs.” People, their buildings and the ways they organize themselves are central to permaculture.

Permaculture’s roots are in sustainable agriculture, but it can be applied much more broadly and has evolved into a design system for a permanently sustainable culture. PERMACULTURE’S ETHICS • Earth Care — care for the soil and the WHAT DOES THIS MEAN environment FOR OTHER SPECIES • People Care — care for self, family, community AND HABITAT? • — return of surplus to the Earth, Fair Share Unlike traditional agriculture, other creatures and people permaculture strives to put the needs PERMACULTURE’S of the earth and other beings on TWELVE DESIGN PRINCIPLES equal footing with those of people. 1. Observe and interact Permaculture’s ethic of Earth Care 2. Catch and store energy guides us to purposely create habitat for all other creatures and care for the soil 3. Obtain a yield and the organisms in the soil which in 4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback turn feed the plants and birds. Fair Share 5. Use and value renewable resources guides us to allow and plan for all living and services beings, including humans in our 6. Produce no waste community, to enjoy part of our yield. 7. Design from patterns to details When we plant desirable species like 8. Integrate rather than segregate hazelnut and goumi berry we expect 9. Use small and slow solutions wildlife to harvest part of our crop. By 10. Use and value diversity providing habitat, for instance to birds, 11. Use edges and value the marginal they are encouraged to also feed on 12. Creatively use and respond to change orchard “pests.” We provide alliums to pollinator species, which can deter Eggleston Park browsing deer. This helps us provide a Food Forest safe and organic means of pest control. Learn more at A program of EdibleEvanston.org Apple Guild Pear Guild Low Canopy Layer Herbaceous Layer Eggleston Park PEAR/ASIAN PEAR …Continued Food Forest Pyrus communis/Pyrus CHIVES, GARLIC pyrifolia & ONION Mid CaCanopopy Layeyer Herbrbaceousus Layeyer Edible Fruit Allium — various Edible Leaves & Flowers, Eggleston Park A program of REDBUD ASPAPARAGUS Shrub Layer Insectary, Deer/Rabbit/ HONEYBERRY/ Vole Repellant Food Forest CeCercisis canadedensisis Aspspararagus offffificininalilisis HASKAP BLUE DAFFODILS Edible Flowers, Edible Stems HONEYSUCKLE Narcissus Young Leaves & Pods Lonicera caerulea Deer/Rabbit/Vole CHIVES, Edible Fruit, Insectary Repellant, Beauty A program of SERVICEBERRY SEABERRY GARLIC & ONION Hippophae rhamnoides Ground Cover Amelalanchier arbrborea Allllilium — vavaririous Edible Fruit, STRAWBERRY Nitrogen-Fixer Fragaria Edible Fruit, Fall Color,r, Edible Leaves & Flowers, Weed Control, Insectary Insectary,y, Deer/Rabbit/ Herbaceous Layer Edible Fruit Vole Repellant BORAGE VETCH Borago officinalis Vicia Low CaCanopopy Layeyer Edible Flowers, Leaves, Nitrogen-Fixer, Edible COMFREY & Seed Oil, Insectary, Shoots & Pods, Weed APPLE SySymymphytum offffificininale Tap Root Breaks Up Hard Control Soil, Mineral-Accumulator Malus pumilala Medicinal, Insectary,y, Edible Fruit, Insectary Mineral-Accumulator,r, Mulch Shrub Layeyer BLUE WILD INDIGO GOOSEBERRY Baptisisia austrtraralilisis Ribes hirirtellllum Nitrogen-Fixer,r, Beauty,y, Edible Fruit, Insectary Medicinal, Dye-Making Pawpaw Guild GOUMI RHUBARB ElElalaeagnus multiflflorara Mid Canopy Layer Rheum rhrhabarbrbarum Eggleston Park PAWPAW Edible Fruit, Edible Stems, Food Forest Nitrogen-Fixer Asimina triloba Mineral-Accumulator,r, Edible Fruit Rhizome Barrier RUGOSA ROSE A program of Shrub Layer Rosa rugosa NANNYBERRY YAYARROW Viburnum lentago Edible Hips, Insectary,y, Achillllea millefofolilium Edible Fruit, Insectary Beauty Edible Leaves, Insectary,y, Herbaceous Layer SEABERRY Medicinal MAYAPPLE Podophyllum peltatum Hipippppopophae rhrhamnoides Edible Fruit, Insectary Edible Fruit, GrGroround CoCovever TOMATO Nitrogen-Fixer STRAWAWBERRY Solanum lycopersicum Edible Fruit, Shade/Nurse Plant FrFraragaririaia Weed Control, Ground Cover WILD GINGER Edible Fruit Asarum canadense Edible Roots, Pollinator OREGANO RAMPS Origiganum vulglgare Allium tricoccum Edible Leaves Edible Leaves & Roots

Stone Fruit Guild Walnut Guild

Low Canopy Layer Herbaceous Layer High Canopy Layer Ground Cover Eggleston Park APRICOT …Continued Eggleston Park BLACK WALNUT SAFFRON CROCUS Food Forest Prunus armeniaca GARLIC Food Forest Juglans nigra Crocus sativus Edible Fruit Allium sativum Edible Nuts Beauty, Edible Stigma, Edible Bulb, Dye-Making PEACH Deer/Rabbit/Vole A program of A program of Shrub Layer Prunus persica Repellant WILD GINGER Edible Fruit SPICEBUSH Asarum canadense Peach CORIANDER Lindera benzoin Edible Roots, Pollinator PLUM TREE Coriandrum sativum Medicinal, Scent, Prunus domestica Edible Leaves & Stem, Insectary Underground/ Edible Fruit Seeds for Flavoring, Fungal Layer Medicinal, Insectary Herbaceous Layer Shrub Layer WINE CAP DILL BEE BALM MUSHROOMS BLACK Anethum graveolens Monarda fistulosa Stropharia rugosoannulata CHOKEBERRY Edible Leaves & Stem, Flowers & Leaves for Edible, Decomposer, Aronia melanocarpa Seeds for Flavoring, Tea, Insectary Detoxifier, Symbiotic Edible Fruit Medicinal, Insectary SWEET CICELY Nutrient Release Herbaceous Layer Osmorhiza claytonii Ground Cover Edible, Medicinal, HORSERADISH WHITE CLOVER Insectary Amoracia rusticana Trifolium repens SOLOMON’S SEAL Plum Edible Leaves & Roots, Insectary, Nitrogen Fixer Insect Repellant Polygonatum biflorum Edible, Medicinal, CHAMOMILE Insectary Matricaria chamomilla Medicinal, Insectary

Elderberry Guild Hazelnut Guild

Low Canopy Layer Herbaceous Layer Mid Canopy Layer Eggleston Park ELDERBERRY RASPBERRY Eggleston Park HAZELNUT Food Forest Sambucus nigra Rubus idaeus Food Forest Corylus avellana Edible Flowers & Fruit, Edible Fruit Edible Nuts Medicinal A program of GOJI BERRY/ Ground Cover A program of Herbaceous Layer WOLFBERRY SWEET WOODRUFF RED GIANT MUSTARD Lycium barbarum, Lycium Galium odoratum Brassica juncea chinense Scent, Leaves for Tea Weed & Soil Disease Suppression, Edible Leaves & Fruit Edible Leaves Shrub Layer Underground/Fungal Layer BLACK CURRANTS OYSTER MUSHROOMS Ribes odoratum Pleurotus ostreatus Edible Fruit Edible, Decomposer, Detoxifier, Nutrient Release WHITE WILD A program of INDIGO Baptisia lactea Nitrogen-Fixer, Beauty Learn more at EdibleEvanston.org