The MVC has partnered with landscape designer and MV Vision Fellow, Mary Sage Napolitan, to secure a grant through the MA Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program to create a Public Food Forest Plan for the island.
Public, perennial food forests (diverse, layered plantings of food producing trees, shrubs, and perennials that mimic the structure of a forest) will help support a resilient, equitable local food system and improve food security for the Island community. Hardy, deep-rooted trees, shrubs and perennials are capable of withstanding more intense weather events, drought conditions, climate variability, and require less maintenance and fewer inputs that most agricultural methods, all while providing continuous yields of berries, nuts, fruits and vegetables.
A strong local food system on the Vineyard is critical, as geographic isolation, coastal location, and reliance on imported food, goods and services make the Island particularly at risk for climate-related food insecurity.
The 2020 Aquinnah MVP Community Resilience Building Workshop report identifies the repurposing of land adjacent to the town hall for a food forest (as well as an affordable housing project).
Immediate Actions this grant will support:
- Develop a detailed design for a public food forest in the Aquinnah town center (behind the town hall), including a site plan, plant palette, and planting layout
- Assess and identify potential food forest sites for the other five Island towns; determine priority social and environmental criteria, features and conditions for appropriate sites (accessibility, population densities, hydrology, soil structure, etc.); recommend viable sites
- Create a public toolkit to inform and support the implementation of food forests
This work directly supports Climate Action Plan (CAP) Food Security Goal #1: By 2024, food grown on the Island is harvested and produced in a way that strengthens biodiversity and makes food more abundant over time, and the majority of food consumed on the Island is grown in the Northeastern US.
- Action 3.4: Secure and establish perennial food production areas in public spaces in every town.
