BeaconFoodForest.org

Here are some of the key steps of our plan to get this public food forest planted:​

1. Gather Community Input - Interact with Philadelphia communities that may have interest in the project.
2. Assess Potential Sites - Determine several locations suitable for this project on Public Land.
3. Project proposal - Approach the City of Philadelphia and Partner Organizations with a project proposal.
4. Grow partnerships - Work collaboratively with existing organizations, sustainability professionals, community groups, and those in education to deliver a collective knowledge and experience of agriculture, sustainability, and working with our city's unique ecology and diverse communities
5. Community design process - Our team's consensus decision making process, open and accessible meetings, and focus on community design will ensure this project's development is inclusive and considerate of the needs and desires of a diverse array of voices and local community members.
6. Community Outreach and Volunteerism - The project essentially is Community Powered. We will focus on community engagement and decision making that comes from our Philadelphia communities.
7. ​Funding - We intend to fund this project initially through grants and donations.  Eventually, educational workshops and sales of value added products from the forest will provide additional income opportunities.
8. Organized Implementation - We will implement this project using fundamental principles of Sociocracy and Dynamic Governance, which will have multiple tiers of involvement. The project organized to be powered through Volunteers, Committees, Stipended Super Volunteers, and a few Part-time Program Management Positions.
9. Management, Feedback, and Self-Regulation - Once planted, the food forest will transition to land management and will provide opportunity for feedback and improvement.  Our project intendeds to grow this food forest into an educational and community gathering space that will flourish into our city's future.

Community Design

Phase 1 and 2 Design Progress