During this week's meeting of the City of Charleston Committee on Recreation, Jason Kronsberg, the Director of Parks, announced that work has started on South Carolina's first "food forest" project located around the Mulberry Pond Park in the Ardmore neighborhood of West Ashley.
Spearheaded by the South Carolina Forestry Commission, with up to $200,000 in grants available, the project is an important step towards creating a network of food forests, which are edible landscapes in urban environments that mimic healthy, natural forests.
As part of ‘Plan West Ashley’ (pictured above), the project envisions transforming a portion of Mulberry Pond Park into a vibrant oasis of fruit-bearing trees and plants, accessible to all members of the community. In Charleston’s Climate Action Plan, the park is listed as a carbon sink, helping to lower the city’s carbon footprint by absorbing carbon from the atmosphere and acting as a natural reservoir.
The Charleston Parks Conservancy has cleared and cleaned the site with the help of volunteers, removing over 250 pounds of litter. Banana, olive, and plum trees have been ordered and planting is to kick off during the first week of April. There will be an opportunity again for volunteers to help, and staff will be onsite to provide all necessary tools and directions.
You can learn more about volunteering for this project here.
