Seattle Plans To Build America’s First Edible Forest

A forest in the midst of a turbulent, roaring city; it sounds like something from an amazing dream, but in Seattle it soon will be quite real. With the self-sustaining Food Forest, Seattle is bringing urban agriculture to a higher level, by creating a place where anyone and everyone can go to harvest fruits and vegetables for free.

The concept of an urban food forest seems like the final frontier for the urban agricultural movement. A green haven in the middle of the city is already a very exciting prospect, since while we already have parks and recreational areas, never has there been someone who decided to put an entire forest in the middle of the city. Thinking about entering the forest and harvesting all the beautiful fruits and vegetables to your heart’s content is even more exhilirating.

In Seattle, all of this is actually happening. The city decided to turn a seven-acre plot of land in the city’s Beacon Hill neighbourhood into an enormous food forest. The forest will contain all sorts of edibles; from apples to herbs and walnut trees. Even more exotic fruits won’t be excluded: pineapples or guaves, they will be there. All of this wll be available for free plucking to everyone that takes a stroll through the forest.

The self-sustaining food haven will be built with help from the surrounding neighbourhood. The Friends of the Food Forest team already sent thousands of postcards asking for help and is promoting their plans throughout the city. In 2004, the idea of a food forest (then called ‘Smulbos’) was already introduced to The Netherlands, but unfortunately it never came to be. Here’s to hoping we will see some gorgeous fruits and veggies in downtown Seattle rather sooner than later.