Making the world more abundant & alive
Creating resilient edible landscapes in Portland, OR
We are a 501c3 non-profit that advocates for and facilitates the conversion of grass lawns into multi-level perennial food-bearing ecosystems (food forests) that capture and store rainwater, sequester carbon, create habitat and community, enrich public spaces, and increase food security for decades.
Our food forests in neighborhood yards, schoolyards, church yards, and apartment complex courtyards decolonize urban spaces, build community, and add ecological complexity where it has been simplified, making the world more abundant and alive. Read more about our mission.
Upcoming Food Forest classes & Tours
Join us for summer tours of our food forest sites and year-round classes on food forest design and implementation, regenerative ag, agroforestry, plant care and propagation, placemaking, and land tending!
Land tending apprenticeship
We are looking to connect FOOD FOREST STEWARD APPRENTICES with homeowners that have agreed to convert their lawns into food forests in 2024. If you don’t have access to land and would like to tend a food forest and grow your own food, putting your PDC and or gardening experience to use in NE Portland or SE Portland, please consider joining us as we prepare for next year.
Dormant fruit tree pruning season is almost upon us! We love fruit trees and are here to help you maintain yours. Pruning is a skill that takes years of practice to hone and your trees deserve to be cared for by a skilled pruner who can guide your trees to health and production.
We are licensed, bonded, and insured OR #100328
Can food forests change your life? Yes! Check out PFFI on the Rosebuds and Resilience Podcast
Why food forests?
For tens of thousands of years first peoples of the North American continent have tended their landbases, often in the form of perennial forest gardens, selecting for nutrient density and flavor without creating a degenerative disturbance in the ecosystem.
Unlike annual agriculture brought by european colonizers which sterilizes ecosystems, degrades soil, and produces nutrient-poor calories, Perennial forest gardens improve the ecosystem, improve soil health, and produce nutrient dense calories.
What is now the Portland metro area was home to Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, and Molalla peoples who interacted with the landscape in a (literally) sustainable way, tending its abundance, enriching its ecosystem, interconnected with all its inhabitants and cycles.
As we reconsider our place and work in the world (and in the urban environment), we recognize that It’s time to steward our landbase through regenerative practices and in relationship with the more-than-human world.
We hope you’ll join us in this beautiful and meaningful work!
DONATE
Your tax-deductable donation will go directly toward our programs, community outreach, plant propagation, and purchase of tools and plants. Your support is deeply appreciated!