The Food Forest at Rio Fernando Park // Photo by Avery Blair
Permaculture is an interdisciplinary approach to regenerative land management and community development rooted in the observation and emulation of ecological processes. The word ‘Permaculture’ has been around since the 1970’s, but many aspects of the approach have been developed and practiced by land-based subsistence cultures around the world for millennia. In Permaculture, the goal is to maximize efficient flow of resources while minimizing human impact on the land and waters.
Food forests incorporate fruit and nut trees, shrubs, and plants that have direct benefits to humans in the form of food, medicine, fiber and fodder. These species are combined with companion trees, shrubs and plants that provide fertilization, soil building, increased water retention, mulch, and attraction for beneficial insects. The goal of a food forest is to create a system that mimics the ecosystem of a forest, optimizes the efficiency of the system and minimizes the need for human labor.
Our Food Forest was initially designed and planted by Machiek Musialowski of the Food Forest Movement of Taos and Ben Wright.