What is a Food Forest?
A Food Forest is a type of sustainable agriculture that mimics natural forest ecosystems. It provides food for humans as well as food and habitat for wildlife. Additionally, it sequesters carbon from our atmosphere, builds and protects soil, mitigates erosion, manages rainwater and so much more!
Image: copyright S. McCarthy fall 2025
What are the Layers in a Food Forest?
The canopy layer (nut trees) and sub canopy layer (fruit trees) provide shade for layers below.
The vertical layer (grape vines growing up tree trunks) provides additional food and habitat.
The shrub layer (berry bushes) attracts pollinators and can even fix nitrogen.
The herbaceous layer (dill, kale) holds soil as a cover crop and can improve soil if used as mulch.
The ground cover layer (strawberries) protects the soil from erosion and keeps weeds from growing.
The root layer (turnips) has roots or tubers that bring up nutrients from deep in the soil while the fungal layer (edible mushrooms) decomposes and recycles organic waste into usable nutrients.
Why is there a Food Forest here?
The WCC Food Forest was designed by students to help feed the hungry, improve food resiliency in our area and mitigate climate change. Plants will acknowledge the apple orchard upon which WCC was built and also the indigenous people who lived here before the time of the orchard.
In early 2026, the decision was made to transform the Food Forest into a native pollinator garden, supporting a diverse range of pollinators and advancing the WCC Bee Campus USA initiative. The site remained largely the same, with the primary change being the replacement of currant bushes with elderberry bushes. A dedicated group of students—including members of the S4S Club, STEM Scholars, and others—collaborated with Sandy McCarthy to transition the Food Forest into a more sustainable garden.
Plants in the area
Bed 1 back left
Back row, 2023, all perennials, 3 strawberries
Front row, all perennials: 2 false indigo (Babtisia australis), compass plant (Silphium laciniatum), 2 marsh blazing star (Liatris spicata)
Bed 2 front left
Back row, perennials: 3 elderberries
Front row possibly a black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), 3 native iris (Iris virginicus)
Bed 3 left of sign
Left row, perennials: compass plant, blue false indigo, Rudbeckia, 2 sage
Right row, perennials: black-eyed Susan, sage (Salvia officianalis), lavender (Lavender hidecote), (possibly a compass plant in the middle), unknown perennials that I started tall
yellow coneflower (probably Rudbeckia lacinata)
Bed 4 right of sign
Left row, perennials: 2 lavender, a couple of unknown perennials that I started from
seed
Right row, perennials: Anise hyssop (is it still there), 3 sage, Rudbeckia
Bed 5 right front
Back row: sage, 3 Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium maculatum)
Front row: 2 false indigo, anise hyssop, sage, rudbeckia, anise hyssop
Bed 6
1 false indigo
Bed 7 along the back
2 elderberries (Sambucas nigra)
Other Trees
Nut tree (Carya ovatum), catalpa (Catalpa speciosa), Eastern White pine (Pinus strobus), probably a non-native and allelopathic white mulberry (Morus)
Apple trees (Malus spps), planted 2019: left to right; unknown apple variety, Gravenstein, Gravenstein
In front of apples: garlic (Allium sativum), irises, oregano non-native (Origanum vulgare)
In front of garden: daylily (Hemerocallis fulva) eaten by deer
Added in 2025: Rhubarb (Bed behind Joe Pye Weed); 2 Paw-Paw trees (far west end); 2 blueberry bushes (Blue Crop and Northland varieties—in the center to the west of bench); Garlic (Music, Spanish Roja, Wild Garlic, and Unknown variety from FF harvest summer 2025—various locations)
Added in 2026: 3 elderberries bushes, 1 blueberry bush adjacent to the current blueberry bush.
Location and Size
The location of the garden is on the back service drive and adjacent to the Family Education Buildings. The size of the area is approximately 37’ X 92-100’.