Address: S Dakota St, Seattle, WA 98108
Stewardship contacts: Will Rak
Types of fruit grown at this orchard: Apple, Plum, Fig, Shipova, Quince, Evergreen Huckleberry, Jujube, Currants, Grapes, Goji Berries, Asian Pear, and more!
“Beacon Food Forest began as a crazy dream. In 2009, four friends from Beacon Hill who were studying food forestry created a design envisioning how the 7 acre plot of grass west of Jefferson Park could be transformed into a diverse ecosystem that would provide fresh, healthy, local food to neighbors.
They presented their idea to the City of Seattle whose Department of Public Utilities owns the site. Over many months of negotiations with the City, design collaboration with professional landscape architects, and public meetings to get community input on layout and selection of plants, the final plan was created.
Beacon Food Forest’s design process, layout and stewardship are based on the design principles and ethics of food forestry.
In September 2012, the first trees were planted. Since then, hundreds of volunteers have contributed to turning the first 1.75 acres into food forest, a giving garden, and P-Patch plots.
In 2019 we broke ground for Phase 2, adding another 1.5 acres of growing and learning space to the site.
In 2020, we intensified our vegetable production so that we could donate to food banks in response to increased food insecurity in our community due to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Click here to read more about Beacon Food Forest!
Photos from UFG sessions with a Girl Scout Troop and Home School Group!