Sustainable Solano’s Sustainable Backyard program expanded to Suisun City earlier this spring and is now celebrating the completion of a public demonstration food forest garden at a private Suisun residence. The program offers informative workshops and inspiring talks on sustainable landscape design, community resilience and permaculture.
On Saturday, June 9th and Sunday, June 10th, community members are invited to help create a thriving ecosystem for pollinators, such as birds, bees, and butterflies, at Suisun Wildlife Center (SWC). This custom demonstration garden will focus on year-round pollinator plants and habitat for wildlife and will be fed primarily through secondary water sources such as roofwater diverted to swales. SWC is a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to the rescue of native California wildlife to ensure that birds and animals receive the best possible care.
Attendees will have the opportunity to learn hands-on how to build a proper foundation for a permaculture food forest, how to increase water-holding capacity in the ground, tips for building healthy soil in the garden and basic permaculture design principles that can be applied at home for self-sustaining, food-producing gardens all year-round.
Thank you to Vice Mayor, Lori Wilson, for coordinating lunch with local eateries on both days.
Workshop Dates:
Saturday, June 9th (Installation Day 1:) Laying the foundation: digging on contour swales, making berms and diverting the roof water to the landscape. Register here.
Sunday, June 10th (Installation Day 2): Creating habitat. Register here.
- Planting a community of pollinator plants with multiple functions that support a healthy, diverse ecosystem.
- Surface drip irrigation installation: Adding irrigation for young plants and water conservation.
- Covering the food forest with free woodchips (mulch) to prevent water evaporation and improve soil health.
There will be yearly ongoing workshops and tours of these demonstration food forest gardens on private and public land in each city. This project is made possible by funding and support of the Solano County Water Agency
