Explore the Mansion Greens Edible Food Forest in Weber Park

For many years community gardens have been popular spots for residents to exercise their green thumbs by gathering with one another to grow vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers in designated plots.

More recently, there’s been increasing interest in food forests. Food forests are green spaces that use companion plantings of mostly perennials in a “succession of vertical layers to mimic a woodland, working with nature to create a regenerative ecosystem that provides an abundance of harvestable items,” says Erica Tickle, an expert in urban food forests who supported the Mansion Greens Community Garden group to create a food forest of their own.

With direction from Erica, and a grant from Tree Canada, the folks at Mansion Greens Community Garden set out to plant the Mansion Greens Edible Forest Garden in 2015. This 4,000+ sq. ft. space in Weber Park is home to 16 fruit trees and approximately 35 fruit bushes. Check out the map of the Mansion Greens Edible Forest Garden for some of the wonderful things you can find growing there:  

What’s great about food forests like this one, is that they are intentionally designed to be relatively low-maintenance.

“Edible perennial vegetables, herbs and flowers invite helpful birds and insects, such as pollinators, and discourage pests,” explains Erica. “As a result, these plantings can improve the health and harvest of nearby fruit trees and bushes, which helps create a supportive ecosystem.” Food forests also help to produce good soil and fertilizers, and provide habitats which increase the biodiversity of an area. In other words, by mimicking the natural systems found in nature, the food garden is very much self-sustaining.

By creating a wildly diverse habitat with harvests to share, the gardeners of Mansion Greens work to fulfill their mission of growing both food and community. Many passers-by have commented not only on the beauty of the garden, but also on the peace and hope that it brings them.

If you’re looking for a beautiful and naturalized space to visit, head over to Weber Park and explore the Edible Forest Garden. Depending on the time of year, you might even be able to help yourself to a bit of fruit, vegetables, or maybe some herbs. Come see for yourself why the gardeners say that “the true wealth of this garden is not in the harvest, but in the wisdom nature shares."

For a personal tour or guidelines on harvesting, connect with the Mansion Greens Community Garden on Facebook or by email at mansiongreens@gmail.com. 

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