Food Forest
We received funding for planting supplies and soil preparation. We have also offered experiential learning, internships, and employment opportunities with a food security & sustainability education focus. For instance, we received support from AmeriCorps, Federal Work-Study positions, undergraduate internships, and incentives for high school students to participate in sustainable urban agriculture training.
Expanding the Reach and Impact of the KSU Food Forest
The goal is for the KSU Food Forest to serve as a bridge between KSU and marginalized Atlanta communities by developing a unique and replicable STEM education curriculum, outreach programs, and training in sustainable and regenerative agriculture for food insecure communities. We hope to provide incentives to engage youth, community leaders, and residents from Atlanta’s low-income communities to participate in the programs and training with the goal that they will ultimately be able to teach the design and planting of food forests in their own neighborhoods. Additional support for the project will provide critical funding to expand the reach and impact of the KSU Food Forest to disseminate this effective, but underutilized sustainable agricultural system, and empower and benefit low-income, food insecure communities in metro Atlanta and beyond.
Cutting-Edge Research: Conduct cutting-edge research on system productivity and climate resiliency. The research will optimize the design of the food forest and create best management practices that maximize food yield and resiliency, thus providing optimal results to communities implementing their own food forests.
STEM Education Curriculum: Develop unique and replicable STEM education curriculum, outreach programs, and training in sustainable and regenerative agriculture for food insecure communities. These initiatives will include underrepresented groups from both KSU and local high schools, and they will be developed based on hands-on, experiential learning projects that address sustainable, urban agricultural systems, as well as environmental and social justice issues in metro Atlanta. In addition, we will provide experiential opportunities for students through internships, research assistantships, and directed applied studies.
Sustainable Food Production: Share best practices for long term food security. The KSU Food Forest will play a special role as a model of sustainable food production that can be replicated in the small backyards of urban households, as well as within small areas of community parks and forests. Using established relationships, training and hands-on experiences will be provided for youth, community leaders, and residents in low-income food insecure communities to teach the design and planting of food forests in their neighborhoods. Additional funding will allow us to exponentially increase participants from low-income communities in metro Atlanta that receive training in urban sustainable agriculture and support to create sustainable community food systems.
Help Meet Short-Term Food Needs: Food resources grown at the KSU Food Forest will also be used to help meet critical short-term food needs in low-income communities of metro Atlanta.