Have you ever wondered how to get started designing a garden or edible landscape? Yeah? You’re not the only one. Learn more and check out the resources available below to help you design an edible landscape!
In early August, Storefront for Community Design partnered with the City of Richmond’s Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities (PRCF) Teen Workforce program to host a design workshop to create a food forest in the City’s Southside. The workshop would bring a variety of ideas from workforce participants who visited and worked in many gardens across the city. This was also a great opportunity to showcase Storefront’s mission to build capacity, engage the next generation of designers, and create resources for our community.
image: Participants attend a site visit to learn about the site and analyze the best location for garden elements
The design workshop took place over two days. Day one included a site visit to Broad Rock Sports Complex, the project location selected by PRCF. After the visit, teens and staff headed back to Storefront’s office on East Broad Street to learn more about the design process. Shawn Balon, Executive Director at Storefront who is also a landscape architect, assisted in leading the discussion highlighting the design process, built environment professions (architecture, landscape architecture, etc.), and different drawings created by professionals to visualize an idea - like a plan drawing.
image: Participants learn about design and collaborate on a shared vision
On day two, the group came back together to put their ideas on paper. The group broke into two teams to discuss their ideas and collaborate on a design for a food forest on the project site. Ideas for the food forest included raised beds, shade trees, shade structures, a walking path, a shed, and even a solar powered refrigerator for food storage! As the group reflected on their experiences, they shared about the benefit of working with a design professional, the value of understanding the design process, and the importance of collaborating on a shared vision. The workshop concluded with participants inspired to create and share design solutions in their communities.
Design an edible landscape!
Do you feel inspired to design your own garden or food forest? Use the following resources from this exercise to begin thinking about how you can visualize and design an edible landscape in your backyard, school, or neighborhood. For reference, check out the final ideas from the design workshop below.
image: concept plans/ideas developed by participants in the food forest design workshop
City Builders Design Workshop
Storefront for Community Design’s City Builders Design program convenes project-based learning opportunities that focus on real world issues in the built environment and encourage youth and young adults to discover and design solutions that create effective change in their lives and communities.