Free Fruit, Berries, Nuts Found At Food Forest In Havre De Grace

HAVRE DE GRACE, MD — Residents can pick fresh fruit, nuts and berries for free from a 2.63-acre food forest growing on city-owned land at Todd Park.

Cared for by the Havre de Grace Green Team and volunteers, the food forest was established in 2016 with a grant from the Maryland Urban Community Forestry Committee. At that time, numerous trees and shrubs that yield edible produce and nuts were planted on the plot located at 117 Seneca Avenue.

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Havre de Grace Director Of Administration Christopher Ricci told Patch that the longstanding program's memorandum of understanding was renewed by the city at the Oct. 5 meeting.

During that meeting, Danielle Wolfe, president of the Havre de Grace Green Team's board of directors, told the city council that the food forest continues to be popular in town.

Since the initial plantings in the fall of 2016, more trees and bushes have been added each year, Wolfe said. Species planted at the food forest include serviceberry, blueberry, apple, peach, persimmon, pawpaw, fig, elderberry and plum.

"We consider the stewardship of this program to be a great privilege and thank the city for their support over the past decade," Wolfe said at the meeting.

According to the Green Team's website, the vision for the food forest is for it to be planted and maintained by members of the community who would have access to the plantings to observe and learn from them season after season, as well as harvest the edible produce when the plants mature.

"The food forest was planted with sustainability in mind. It is an ongoing source of fruit, nuts, berries and other plants that add to and do not deplete the earth's natural resources. The plantings provide habitat for other species, including pollinators that are essential to our food system.

"The food forest also contributes to the environment by adding to the forest canopy, an important step in addressing global warming, and to enhancing the green cover of the land for watershed management," the Green Team states on its website.

The Green Team will be hosting a food forest open house and native plant swap Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. at Todd Park. Residents are encouraged to bring a native plant or seed to share or swap.