About
The Food Forest
Festival Beach Food Forest is a grassroots pilot project neighboring the Festival Beach Community Garden and RBJ Residential Center in East Austin. We have transformed 2/3rds of an acre of City Park Land into an edible forest garden where visitors can openly forage and enjoy fresh food on the shores of Lady Bird Lake. Fruits, nuts, vegetables and herbs now flourish in this experimental pilot project to reclaim the public commons.
Our Mission and Values
Our Mission
Growing edible forest gardens on public land that nourish, educate and inspire
Growth
Through the incredible work of our volunteers and with the support of the community, we continue to grow plants and friendships in the food forest. We hope that we can inspire the growth of other community food projects that add more tree canopy, regenerate the soil, capture carbon, educate young leaders on natural systems, and are accessible to all.
Celebration
There are so many moments worthy of celebration. We celebrate the history, stories, and hard work of those who came before us; we celebrate our present harvests and the successes of our community, families, and friends; and we celebrate a future of possibility, growth, and inter-generational harmony. We invite you to celebrate with us!
Connection
There is power in connecting with the land, our food, and each other. We feel the more we can build diverse regenerative places like the Festival Beach Food Forest, the stronger we will be as a society. Our work is grounded in the heritage of local neighborhoods and inspired by the possibility of renewing relationships with the land and with people.
Our Story
This project was first envisioned by community activists from the East Feast Coalition who recognized the power of community members connecting, growing, and celebrating together. Grounded in their neighborhoods’ heritage and inspired by the possibility of renewing relationships with the land and with each other, they gathered neighbors and allies in support of edible landscaping. The idea of the Festival Beach Food Forest took root over the course of two years of community conversations convened by the Parks and Recreation Department as part of the Master Plan process. It has been nourished by ongoing community contributions of time, talent, and resources ever since.
The Festival Beach Food Forest is a center for growth, connection, and celebration. The food forest concept is an ancient one, drawing on indigenous practices of caring for the land and people. Our team of permaculture designers and landscape architects is helping us incorporate these ancient concepts to restore health to the soil and create abundance over time. The Festival Beach Food Forest is an important additional layer to sustainable food production in Austin.
Join us as we transform public parkland into an edible forest garden, open to all in the heart of the city.
Get In Touch or Visit The Food Forest Anytime
Get your hands in the soil with us!
