1. Greenwich Forest Garden
at Hampshire College
Ned Phillips-Jones

2. Terminology
Permaculture: A holistic (whole-systems) process that enables synthesis of many types of information which is used to create stable, productive communities which don’t rely on large energy inputs.
• Forest Gardens: Landscapes designed to mimic the dynamics and functions of forest ecosystems in order to produce healthy foods & useful materials.
(designed using Permaculture)
Academics Bill Mollison and David Holmgren developed the concept in the 1970’s in Australia. Made up of a set of principles, techniques and patterns though it is also a worldwide movement and community.
(word Permaculture is a contraction of permanent + agriculture, recently permanent + culture)

3. Why Create Forest Gardens?
They produce diverse high-quality foods locally
without fossil fuels, tilling or annual planting
This includes a wide array of fruits, shoots,
nuts, greens and roots that are perennial and
disease & pest resistant
Forest Gardens are a promising and timely idea

4. Why here? There is both imminent need for and also
student interest in Permaculture and
Sustainable Agriculture.
Creating forest gardens on campus increases:
• opportunities for NS experimentation
• campus biodiversity & wildlife habitat
quality of living areas
educational resources
Why here?

5. Greenwich Forest Garden provides:
• A “living museum” of plant tissues and
chemical compounds for scientific
experimentation and use
An alternative to low-biodiversity landscapes
such as lawn that would require less energy
to maintain
Enriching learning experiences for steward
interns of the garden, encouraging a personal
course of experimentation in the garden

6. Ornamental Agriculture
Many species valued for their produce also
have other landscaping appeal
Foods grown in Greenwich Forest Garden
have the potential to be locally-viable crops.
(blooms, aroma, visual appeal, wildlife habitat)
Knowledge of their performance will be useful to local growers
Forest gardens created with permaculture are at the cutting edge of sustainable landscapes innovations
In the future the value of having a mature forest garden for research will be a unique asset to the college.

7. Getting to Know Our Food Forest

8. • The garden covers approximately 3/4 of an acre
• The location was previously disturbed
Eroded, rocky soil Infiltration ditches catch sediment
Stakeholders representing a different aspects of
Hampshire have been involved, including:
Larry Archey, Charlie Ekdahl, Linda Mollison,
Ken Hoffman, Naya Gabriel and Leslie Cox
These pictures were taken in 2007.

9. Project Facts Greenwich Forest Garden currently contains
more than 60 species of plants, including over 25
kinds of fruiting crops.
The project has received funding from:
• Physical Plant
•The Community Gardens Student Group
•The Dana Meadows fund (grant through NS)
•Hampshire Financial Services

10. Garden Development Above left: Fall 2007 Above right: Spring 2008
Taken from similar perspectives
Above left: Fall 2007
Above right: Spring 2008
Lower left: Fall 2008

11. Resident Wildlife Below: a box turtle at the woodland edge
Right: a bee samples anise hyssop
Below right: a fly on an aster-family plant

12. Garden Sights

14. Woodland Steward Internship
The garden is a legacy and community resource
• With reasonable amounts of the right kind of care, it will provide an abundance of diverse foods for generations to come.
• Woodland Steward Interns are responsible for the care of the garden.
Design and notes for planting
a diverse fruiting hedge
Large plant order prepared
to over-winter

15. Concept The Steward Intern position and the garden are
intended to act together in facilitating a stimulating
learning environment for the steward and the
Hampshire community.

16. Intern Tasks Include: Mulching beds
Weeding (decreasing priority as groundcovers expand)
Pruning
Addressing disease and rot
Saving seed, propagating by cuttings
Species labeling
Seeking out and training successors
Documenting work, specific observations and experiences to contribute to the garden records.

17. Internship Benefits Stewards: Enjoy extensive foraging opportunities
•fruits (pawpaw, juneberry, apricot…etc.)
•chestnuts and hazelnuts
•perennial vegetables, wild edibles
•medicinal and culinary herbs
•useful materials (dyes, woodworking materials)
•gain knowledge of Permaculture Design and forest garden dynamics and maintenance

18. Stewards… build the garden’s archive base by contributing
observations, updates, etc..
learn about propagation, seed saving, polycultural
guilds, soil health, site analysis, plant identification, etc…
conduct soil dynamics, plant chemistry or nutrition
studies with NS faculty, staff & facilities
become members of the
Western Massachusetts Permaculture Guild

19. In summation…
• Low-maintenance landscape which yields a diversity of crops
Low-cost way to expand agriculture on campus
Student projects contribute to global knowledge base of ecosystem-mimicry agriculture

20. Bibliography
Holmgren, David. Permaculture: Pathways and Principles Beyond Sustainability. Victoria: Holmgren Design Services, 2002
Jacke, Dave. Edible Forest Gardens: Ecological Vision and Theory for Temperate Climate Permaculture. White River Junction: Chelsea Green, 2005.
Toensmeier, Eric. Perennial Vegetables: From Artichoke to ‘Zuiki’ Taro, a Gardener’s Guide to Over 100 Delicious Easy-to-Grow Edibles. White River Junction: Chelsea Green, 2007.

21. Thanks to the following for helping make Greenwich Forest Garden a reality:
Division III Committee
Brian Schultz, Colin Twitchell, Steve Roof
Chris Jarvis, Charlie Ekdahl, Larry Archey, Ken Hoffman, Naya Gabriel, Dave Brunelle, Gerry Bohdanowicz, Beth Ward, Elaine Thomas, Steven Breyer, Tripple Brook Farm, Linda Mollison, Leslie Cox, The Vervane Foundation, Oikos Tree Crops, Jono Neiger, Dave Jacke, Greenwich residents
& countless others..