Draft Minutes of
Resilient Hartford
Clifford Park Food Forest Design Workshop #1
July 13, 2021
A Resilient Hartford workshop was held on Tuesday, July 13th at 5:30 p.m. in Room 2 of the Hartford Town Hall at 171 Bridge Street, White River Junction. Chair Kye Cochran called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. The meeting was also accessible remotely via Zoom and several people participated that way.
Resilient Hartford Members Present: Dylan Kreis and Chair Kye Cochran.
Resilient Hartford Liaisons Present: Jon Bouton, Conservation Commission.
Staff Present: Matt Osborn, Town Planner.
Others Present: Becky Chollet, Ruth Fleishman and consultants Cat Buxton and Karen Ganey.
Welcome & Introductions: RH Chair Kye Cochran called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. and welcomed everyone. Introductions were made and Kye provided background on the Food Forest project. The idea came from RH member Dylan Kreis who also serves as the Parks Foreman for the Hartford Parks and Recreation Department. The goal is to convert some park turf areas to other uses in order to reduce the amount of turf to maintain. This project fits in with RH’s goal of being more independent regarding food production and security. Kye then introduced consultant Karen Ganey of Permaculture Solutions. Karen designs gardens that maximize biodiversity and ecosystem health. She has extensive experience working with grassroots organizations and volunteering on community projects.
Goals Articulation Brainstorming:
Goals & Design Qualities:
Build Soil Health
Attractive
Access to affordable/FREE food
Physical accessibility for all
Nutritional, environmental, social benefits
Reimagine public spaces
Food productions
Community involvement educations
Signage and education
Workshop spaces
Areas that kids of all ages (intergenerational spaces) will enjoy!
Lower maintenance for the Town of Hartford
Welcoming
Wonder
Pride
Belonging
Abundant
Relaxing
Peaceful
We Aim:
To create an accessible and inclusive space for the community to come together to grow food naturally and regeneratively.
To restore soil health.
To create a food forest with mostly native, fruit bearing shrubs, trees and perennials.
To nurture opportunities to learn good stewardship of our environment.
To create space where people share knowledge and skills.
To provide a space for reinvigorating the human soul!
To nurture wonder, pride, belonging, abundance, relaxation, peace, and FUN!
To create habitat for pollinators, wild fauna, migratory birds, and wildlife.
To strengthen the wildlife corridor along the White River.
To explore how input intensive parks can be transformed into low maintenance and regenerative social and environmental ecosystems.
To work cooperatively with Abenaki community members to learn about traditional ecological knowledge.
General Design Concept:
Themes: Community, Skillsharing, Co-learning, Food Security, Education on Climate Mitigation, Soil Health, Food Preservation, Physical accessibility for everyone, nutritional, environmental, social, economic benefits for the community, Useful spaces for workshops and presentations (ie. on soil health and climate mitigation)
Design Ideas: Choose one zone to focus on for Fall 2021.
- Center Guild with gardens radiating out
- Guilds connected by pathways
- Keystone Species with guilds around them
Keystones:
- · Butternuts, Bitternuts, Heartnuts
- · Basswood Linden, White Oak (SEE LIST FROM CAT)
- · Fruit Trees: Apples, Pears, Peaches, Plums
Shrub Layers:
- Saskatoon/June Berry
- Sambucus Elderberry
- Mulberry
- Aronia melanocarpa (Black Chokeberry): Sour berries, high antioxidants. Berries are good for wildlife including birds, butterflies and insect pollinators.
- Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Plants have a wide range of soil tolerance Best fruit production usually occurs in full sun. Remove root suckers to prevent colonial spread unless desired.
- Vibernum Trilobum (Highbush Cranberry)
- Clethera alnifolia (Summer Sweet): butterflies, hummingbirds, moths
- Lindera Benzoin (Spicebush): Swallow tail butterfly
Karen noted that this is a phased project that will take several years to complete and that we will start small and evolve. Cat Buxton agreed noting that we need to start small to ensure it is achievable in the short term as well as being attractive and draw in the community as we go. Karen suggested that with fruit trees, there is a minimum of three trees with guilds. Cat noted that we will have access to trees through 350 Vermont.
Next Workshop: It was agreed to hold the second design workshop on Wednesday, July 21st at 6:30 p.m. It will take place in Room 2 again and will also be accessible via Zoom.
Adjournment: Kye Cochran thanked everyone for attending the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 7:17 p.m.
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