Pass Creek Food Forest
A food forest is a diverse planting of edible and useful plants that attempts to mimic the ecosystems and patterns found in nature. This is part of an effort to restore pre-European horticultural practices.
Teachers
Practices
Horticulture. Social Forestry. Permaculture. Pastoralism. These practices go by many names, but at their roots are tradition. Between the misunderstood "hunter/gatherers" and the modern "conventional agriculture" there were practices that involved the propagation and support of plants and animals without the intensive cultivation and domestication that we call "conventional".
These practices have been taught to us by Leslie Henry, Koreen Brennan, Hazel Ward, and many others.
Keyline Trenches and
Social Forestry
Surrounded by canyons and terrain with an elevation change of nearly 400 feet, this is a great laboratory to practice keyline design. Digging trenches "on contour" to reverse erosion, store, and distribute moisture. This will raise the water table and provide a more consistent flow in the creeks.
Hardwood
Restoration
For more than 100 years most Pine Ridge residents have depended on wood heat to survive the winters. Unfortunately, this has led to the mass deforestation of hardwood varieties in the region. Hardwood is preferred firewood over softwood like pine. A primary goal of this project is to restore the forest's diversity.
Medicine and
Wildlife
With sage, rosehips, echinacea, and other traditionally medicinal plants all around, we work to propagate and share these plants. These actions also help the wildlife prosper.
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