Food, Futures, and Regeneration: The Urban Forest Project Lays Down Roots in Tucson
Community members and local experts brought together by Harris Fletcher Enterprises to strategize and implement a viable food forest.
In the heart of the Amphi Neighborhood of Tucson, a groundswell of activity is happening that will bring food, livelihood opportunities, and a whole lot of trees to the community. On September 18, 2021, Harris Fletcher Enterprises in Tucson invited businesses, nonprofits, neighbors, and friends to take part in the planting of a food forest that will provide food, shade, remediate the soil, retain water, and provide learning for generations to come. Donations of fertilizer were provided by Tank’s Green Stuff and trees by Tucson Clean & Beautiful. This initiative is part of the Urban Forest Project, an affordable housing community with a focus on equity planning.
Harris Fletcher Enterprises (HFE) is a social enterprise, meaning they strive for long-term economic viability while primarily pursuing social and environmental goals, addressing problems that have been traditionally neglected by the market or public sector. Led by Herman Harris and Randiesia Fletcher, they started HFE to provide affordable housing, social mindfulness training, and job skills to those experiencing housing, food, and financial insecurity. HFE's goal for the Urban Forest Project is to build sustainable low-income housing that is energy and water efficient, and built together with a food forest that provides green space, food, and tree cover that will help to mitigate urban heat island effects that disproportionately impact the health and well-being of individuals and families in the community. Through the process of planning the Urban Forest Project, HFE also worked to achieve Southern Arizona Green Leaders Certification, part of the Arizona Green Business Program.
Credit: FairAmountFoodForest.org
What exactly is a food forest anyway? It is a gardening and land management technique that mimics nature by incorporating plant layers of different height including trees, shrubs, and groundcover. This is not a new practice. Viable food forestry has been around for over 4,000 years with hundreds in existence throughout the world. When executed successfully, they have the potential to provide food, livelihoods, heat mitigation, carbon storage, and spaces for recreation, education, and community building (Albrecht & Wiek 2021). As a part of the Urban Forest Project, HFE has planted a food forest to create a viable vision that is an alternative to the industrial food systems that are responsible for economic disparities and a full third of global greenhouse gas emissions (Tubiello et al 2021). Residents will be able to grow, harvest, and eat food produced on site while developing the knowledge and skills to process foods into value-added products, potentially giving rise to entrepreneurs and new local food businesses.
Randiesia and Herman included various stakeholders in the community to participate in the planting event to show that transformation does not happen in a vacuum, it happens when a diverse group commits to listening, collaboration, and taking action. They hope as the food forest matures and benefits the neighborhood it will serve as an example of how sustainability solutions like the Urban Forest Project address the root causes of climate change and inequality while creating economic viability. More solutions like the Urban Forest Project from transformational social enterprises like Harris Fletcher Enterprises is what is needed right now to secure a livable future in Tucson and the rest of Arizona.
Sources:
Albrecht, S., & Wiek, A (2021). Food forests: Their services and sustainability. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 10(3), 91–105.
Francesco N Tubiello et al (2021). Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems: building the evidence base. Environ. Res. Lett. 16 065007 - UN FAO
