PDC- Observation: Visits to local food forest sites

Living here in Maryland, (US) we're fortunate enough to have a neighboring suburb, Hyattsville here in the DC area, that took vacant lots and at the municipal level turned them into two neighborhood food forests. They are maintained by the city, by neighbors, and by an ongoing crew of volunteers (Some from the nearby University of Maryland that helped with the site.) They are surrounded by homes on at least three sides each.

I had looked through their online resources about the sites and decided to add a "field trip" to my PDC studies. It being the tail end of winter, this year I'd like to try to visit at least the Emerson Street location in all four seasons over the course of the next year. Emerson is the larger of the two and the site with better documentation of the plantings publicly available. I want to see how it changes and grows as the seasons change. (And nibble a few blackberries along the way!)

I took the opportunity to utilize it as my "sit spot" for the day. It was a good time of year to get a feel for the structures of the site, and learn to identify some of the plants in their overwintering state. Even now, a few of last autumn's walnuts could still be found, not all devoured by the squirrels, yet.

There's signage and QR codes at some of the plantings, lots of benches, trellises for berry bushes, an arbor, and even a trash and dog clean up supplies station. There are even some neat stepping stone paths through the taller 'wilder' areas.

I wish I lived closer, and that more cities understood the value of these spaces.

https://www.hyattsville.org/902/Food-Forests

I love the fact that they explain what's 'in season' and might be possible to harvest when you visit.