Sustainable Solano celebrates the official opening of its first public demonstration food forest garden in Fairfield at Mission Solano on Thursday, December 21st. The birth of this food-producing community garden was developed after Mission Solano’s Chief Operating Officer, Shauna Hughes, reached out to the only sustainability-based nonprofit in Solano county for a possible partnership in helping create better access to healthier, more nutritious food options for its resident guests, educational opportunities for job skills training and ways to encourage independent sustainable living practices for residents transitioning back into the community.
Sustainable Solano’s Sustainable Backyard Program’s late summer expansion into Fairfield this year began the conversation for the planning of a “Christmas” demonstration food forest garden that would serve the greater community and provide a source of inspiration to build neighborhood resilience across other Solano county neighborhoods.
Through numerous hands-on workshops, community members and Mission Solano residents worked hard this season planting trees and edible plants, digging swales and installing a laundry-to-landscape greywater system to create a beautiful, thriving edible landscape fed by secondary water (rainwater and greywater). This demonstration garden will be open most Saturdays of the year for self-guided tours and will provide educational opportunities for learning about growing food and using water wisely in the garden.
Anyone interested in attending this celebratory event from 2:00pm-3:00pm on Thursday, December 21st at Mission Solano (310 Beck Avenue, Fairfield) is welcome to come enjoy hot chocolate and sweet treats with neighbors in honor of this inspiring community effort to inspire and educate about how to grow locally and eat healthier. This project was made possible by funding from the Solano County Water Agency.
No registration is required.
The Sustainable Backyard program will expand to Suisun City next spring and to Vacaville in the fall of 2018. Sustainable Solano will be looking for both private and public lands to install food forests in these cities. Visit www.sustainablesolano.org and www.facebook.com/sustainablesolano for updates and details about this expansion.
