A London woman is growing a food forest in her front garden, fostering a new ecosystem and bringing her neighbours closer together.
Theresa Rutten's Waterloo Street front garden is full of unruly plants, with large almond and peach trees, raspberry bushes, grape vines and flowers grazing the mulberry-stained sidewalk standing out against the backdrop of a manicured lawn.
“I started by planting fruit trees,” says Theresa Rutten, who began growing the food forest in 2018.
Food forests, also known as food gardens, are similar to gardens but are designed to mimic the way plants grow in natural ecosystems such as forests in order to maximise the amount of crops harvested.
Rutten started the food forest project at 216 Waterloo Street in 2018. (Alpha Rana/CBC)
Rutten set up the Food Forest Project on Waterloo Street to help wildlife thrive and provide healthy, locally grown food for people in the neighborhood.
She grows mainly fruits such as persimmons, plums, peaches and grapes, as well as nuts and herbs.
Rutten said the food forest has become a meeting place for neighbors to talk, pick out their favorite foods and share homemade meals.
“We're just starting to get to know each other, which is great, because as we get to know each other, we start sharing resources,” Rutten said. “Rene brought a bottle of kombucha that he makes…[another neighbour] He'll bring over some curry chickpeas for dinner, and we'll eat it together.”
Raspberries are one of dozens of nuts and fruits that grow in Rutten's food forest. (Alpha Rana/CBC)
Waterloo Street neighbor Rene Vanderbrink likes picking strawberries and almonds from the food forest.
“It's great to have safe, nutritious fruit available for free,” Vanderbrink said, adding that the food forest has become a hub for interaction with neighbors.
“We love being next to a fruit grove… and people love to walk in and check out what's new,” Vanderbrink said. “We sometimes see neighbors picking fruit and sitting in the space enjoying it.”
Waterloo Street neighbour Rene Vanderbrink likes picking strawberries and almonds from the food forest. (Alpha Rana/CBC)
Deb Fox, who has lived in the Simcoe Street neighbourhood since 2006, said she has noticed an increase in wildlife since Rutten set up the food forest six years ago.
“The ecosystem here is very good,” says Fox. “There were no great tits in this neighborhood before Teresa put up these little nesting boxes. She provided the nesting boxes and that's what has allowed the great tit population to become established.”
Fox doesn't pick food from her forest garden because she wants to save the fruits, nuts and seeds for those in need. A gardener herself, Fox likes to stop by the food forest to chat with Rutten and other neighbors.
“It's a central location. It's a community gathering place. People stop and chat, myself included.”
