"Food Forest" Planting Day: Oct. 5

         The North Lamar International Merchants Association (NLIMA), in collaboration with the Souly Austin Program in the City of Austin’s Economic Development Department, and with the assistance of the Austin Community Tree Preservation Board, announces the creation of a new public greenspace and Food Forest at the corner of Kramer Lane and Parkfield Drive.
       Souly Austin helps business districts form merchant associations dedicated to cultivating a strong, vibrant, culturally rich and historically rooted business district serving their immediate neighborhoods and the broader Austin community. The North Lamar International Merchants Association has been working with the Souly Austin Program as a collaborative partner for the last two years.
            A Food Forest is an age-old agricultural strategy where people plant diverse types of edible, climate appropriate plants that form strong, mutually supportive relationships, creating a system that sustains itself over time. NLIMA will initiate Phase One of building the forest with an inaugural planting event on October 5, 2019. Phase One includes installation of the crucial infrastructure, consisting of an irrigation system, and the tallest layer of the forest, which will include a dozen native fruit trees, including peach, pomegranate and fig.
         Work will take place at 1310 Kramer Lane between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. and will be performed by members of the NLIMA board, along with two City of Austin Park Rangers and community volunteers.
            The NLID Food Forest will be open to the community to enjoy as a park and, once the plants are mature enough to produce, anyone is welcome to harvest the fruit from the trees, free of charge.  The goal of the NLIMD Food Forest is to address the critical need for every person, regardless of income, to have access to fresh, healthy, organic food. The project also contributes to the beauty of the community and health of its residents by installing plants that filter pollution out of our air and water, create more shade, and provide an incentive for people to get outside and engage in physical exercise and community building by participating in park maintenance events.
            The site for the Food Forest was generously provided by Tu Nguyen of Farmers Insurance and is made possible by the generous financial support and labor of the NLIMA Board of Directors, business members,  TreeFolks, Austin Parks Department, Austin Park Rangers and Community Court.
             More will be made public about upcoming volunteer opportunities and how you can donate to provide a tree, plant, or other park amenity (ex. benches, Little Free Library, educational signage, etc.). In addition, the public is invited to join NLIMA on Friday, November 1, 2019 for a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, which is part of Phase Two, to officially open the Food Forest. Details will be announced at a later date.
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