Recently, the Belnel Neighborhood Association on the Hyde Park and Mattapan line met recently in a virtual session with Boston Food Forest (BFF) Engagement and Construction Director Liz Luc Clowes.

The discussion centered around a vacant city-owned lot at 4468 Poydras St., which sits at the corner of Poydras, Belnel and River Streets.

Clowes explained that the BFF uses such lots to grow permaculture sites to produce food and bring communities together. Permaculture is where an array of support plants – and sometimes animals and insects – are used to provide natural protection for crop plants against pest species of plants, animals and insects – https://gvimes.link/fdfrstdef

“We do our work at the intersection of racial justice and climate resilience, and we work with a network of neighbors to transform vacant land into edible forests,” she said.

Clowes said the BFF works as a land trust, which basically means the site will remain conserved land in perpetuity through a conservation restriction. That means if the City of Boston ever wants to sell the land, for any reason, the BFF would have to give approval.

Clowes said the BFF has been meeting with many residents in Hyde Park, and said the organization has already built several such forests in Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan.

“And neighbors we’ve met with in Hyde Park would also like a food forest,” she said. “We work with neighbors to grow food. We grow fruit trees of various sorts and we ask neighbors what they want. It could be peach trees, apples, paw paws – all sorts of fruits and berries. We also teach and share how to process such food and we grow together.”

Showing how to “process” the food includes live cooking demonstrations.

Clowes said residents have often met and formed lasting bonds from the efforts.

“I’ve often heard, ‘Oh I’ve lived in this neighborhood a long time, and I didn’t know you lived a few doors down from me,’” she said.

Clowes said the group works through sterwardship teams, which are neighbors who commit to caring for the land for a year or more. She said half the BFF’s board is made up of such volunteers. But she said that’s not the only thing that can happen on the group’s 15 sites throughout the city.

“And then there are neighbors who just stop by and enjoy the harvest, or sometimes they pop in to do their homework or play with their grandkids,” she said. “These are parks, and there are different ways to engage. We also offer an array of classes around food and engagement. These places are also really cared for and owned by the community. People will have everything from birthday parties to community meetings there.”

Advertisement

The closest food forest to Hyde Park is 640 River St. for the Edgewater Food Forest. She said the site was simply a vacant lot with a broken fence, bottles, and lots of tires.

“Neighbors came to us and asked us to transform it,” she said. “We came together, we listened to what they wanted, and then we came up with a plan.”

The park is now a food forest, along with a stage that acts as a place for classes or performances for residents.

Belnel Chair Helena Tongue said the association will consider the proposal for now, but she had positive feedback at the time of the meeting.

“It would be interesting to see if neighbors would really like to see that happen in that space,” she said. “We’re constantly hearing about playgrounds, pickleball courts etc., and it’s nice to think about utilizing community space in a different way that still creates that bond and friendship. We’ll have more discussion about this.”

The site is adjacent to the Match Charter School, and the school’s CEO, Kim Williams, spoke about the proposal during the meeting.

“I’m thrilled and excited,” she said. “To be honest, many schools have outdoor classrooms where you can work on farming and growth, and this ties in really nicely into many of the science units. I think we might do this. We have a lot of students who come directly from this neighborhood, but some come on buses from other neighborhoods, and I think this can give a real sense of community to be a part of a project like this where they help to build the food and meet the neighbors. I’m really excited for it, depending on what the community wants.”

If you want to see the group in action, they have an educational event at the Maple Street Food Forest this weekend from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 44 Maple St., Grove Hall, Roxbury. More information can be found at https://www.bostonfoodforest.org/workshops/join-orion-at-maple-street-food-forest