The KSU Food Forest
A model of sustainable urban cultivation, demonstrating the potential of food forest systems & providing educational opportunities
About Us
The KSU Food Forest project was created by Dr. Jason Rhodes and Dr. Vanessa Slinger-Friedman , along with Michael Blackwell, Operations Manager of the KSU Field Station.
The KSU Food Forest has 4 major goals:
- Strengthen Atlanta’s food system by planting food forests in food desert communities
- Build across community lines of race and class through ongoing collaboration between faculty and staff of the KSU community and residents of neighborhoods selected as food forest sites
- Promote math and environmental science education, and agroforestry knowledge and skills, among project participants, with a particular focus on disadvantaged youth in project-site communities
- Demonstrate the potential of food forests to not only promote food security but also address the urgent environmental issues of climate change and water sustainability
Dr. Vanessa Slinger-Friedman is a Professor of Geography at Kennesaw State University. Her work has included a study of Vetiver grass technology for soil erosion control, the use of agroforestry for Amazonian urban resettlement in Acre, Brazil, and ecotourism on Dominica, W.I., for economic development and nature preservation. Vanessa’s regional specialty is Latin America and the Caribbean. Her other research interests include innovative pedagogy to teach about sustainability and geography.
Email: vslinger@kennesaw.edu
Dr. Jason Rhodes is a Lecturer of Geography at Kennesaw State University. His research focuses on the impact of spatial strategies of social exclusion formulated in the pursuit of urban property values, and their impact upon the shaping of the urban landscape of Atlanta. Dr. Rhodes has developed a Geographies of Sustainable Agriculture course which connects students to the KSU Food Forest. He is especially interested in placing the contemporary geography of Atlanta's food desert communities in the context of the legacies of redlining and social exclusion that produced them, and in using sustainable urban agriculture as a tool to promote food security and build community across the lines of race and class.
Email: jrhode22@kennesaw.edu
Michael Blackwell is the Operations Manager for the Kennesaw State Field Station and part-time Instructor of Organic Agriculture and Beginning Apiary Studies. He is a UGA certified Master Gardener and has received permaculture design certifications as well as certifications in Commercial Compost Operations and HACCP/HARPC food safety training courses. Michael has 29 years of experience as a commercial farmer and beekeeper. He has also taught permaculture and orchard management courses. Aside from his duties at KSU, Michael is the 3rd generation operator of Blackwell Farms, a heritage apple orchard that has a conservatory of over 100 varieties of heirloom apples and other fruits & nuts.
Email: wblackw2@kennesaw.edu
Dr. Amy Borello Gruss is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering within the Civil and Construction Engineering Department at Kennesaw State University. Dr. Gruss’s specialty is hydraulic and water treatment systems. She has experience completing water quality testing on many projects and has experience in farm and agricultural systems through her work with biosolid applications for clients. She will measure the water consumption, agricultural productivity, and climate resilience of the food forest. This ecological engineering approach will study how the design of a food forest can increase productivity and climate resilience.
Email: agruss@kennesaw.edu
Starting in the summer of 2020, an enthusiastic team of KSU students and AmeriCorps Summer VISTAs was hired to aid in the creation & maintenance of the KSU Food Forest. They also helped educate the community about issues of food security, public health, policy, sustainable agriculture, and the importance of pollinator populations through social media.
Through an Office of Diversity and Inclusion Faculty Fellowship, Dr. Rhodes is also working with 2 undergraduate interns who will educate the campus about connections between the overt racial discrimination of the past and the urgent problem of food insecurity in today’s Atlanta, and also incentivizing four economically disadvantaged students at Maynard Jackson High School to receive training in sustainable urban agriculture at the KSU Food Forest in Spring, 2021.
What is a Food Forest?
Food forests are designed to mimic a natural forest ecosystem and provide a model of sustainable cultivation.
Unlike a community garden, which is typically planted in annuals, a food forest is a planned ecosystem of complementary edible, perennial plants with multiple layers.
Fruit and nut trees comprise the top layer; vines, shrubs, and cover-crops the middle, and root crops make up the bottom. This structure allows for an amazing amount of biodiversity and high-density food production.
A well-designed food forest can last for decades and help to mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration, promote water resilience by increasing the water-absorption capacity of the soil, and enhance food security by yielding an impressive quantity of diverse, nutrient-rich calories per acre.
The Field Station
The KSU Food Forest is located at the KSU Field Station . Before the area became a farm, it was a cement mixing plant owned by the Georgia Department of Transportation. While toxic chemicals were not necessarily dumped into the soil, enough damage was done to strip the soil of active microbial communities.
Once the site came under the control of KSU, Michael Blackwell (Operations Manager at the KSU Field Station) remediated the soil and brought life back to the land.
Photo taken by KSU GIS student Chris Beck
The KSU Field Station , managed by the Office of Research , offers an outdoor space for interdisciplinary research opportunities and a living learning laboratory for researchers, educators, and students. Please click here for information on the current research taking place at the KSU Field Station.
At the KSU Food Forest we are always on the lookout for new innovations in agricultural sustainability. One of the technologies we've implemented is the addition of a Johnson-Su composting bioreactor. The bioreactor is essentially “no-till” compost. Turning compost can disrupt the development of microbial communities important for plant health. The compost in the bioreactor does not need to be turned because it is sufficiently aerated due to the large holes in the middle and the breathable outer material used to construct it. This allows for beneficial microbes and fungi to flourish.
On the left is the site in 2008 when it was a GDOT cement mixing plant. On the right is the KSU Field Station at the start of 2020. Since then, we have begun preparing a 1/3 acre portion of the land for the food forest (circled in red).
"What we contemplate here is more than ecological restoration; it is the restoration of relationships between plants and people." Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
What Are We Planting?
At the KSU Food Forest, we put a lot of thought into what we are going to plant. It is very important that the plants are not only well adapted to our local GA environment but also that they provide us with a variety of other uses and nutrients. For example, strawberries make for a great snack, but they also help trap water and nutrients in the soil!
Our canopy layer for the KSU Food Forest will be made up of an assortment of well placed nut trees, such as black and English walnuts, chestnuts, and pecans. These will provide us with an excellent source of healthy fats and protein, not to mention they can be stored for long periods of time. Black walnuts in particular can be used to make dye for different crafts.
The sub-canopy buffers sun, wind, and rain, holds humidity, offers vertical space for food-producing vines. Ours will be made up of various fruit trees, including persimmon, pear, apple, fig, and cherry trees.
Our shrub and vine layer will consist of antioxidant-rich fruits such as pawpaw, pomegranates, goji berries, blackberries, blueberries, and muscadine. Their leaves keep moisture in and soften the raindrops to prevent erosion. Vines can also provide a large food crop and attract larger pollinators.
Ground cover is very important to have in a forest ecosystem because it helps retain water in the soil and protects the soil from erosion and compaction. Our ground cover will consist of leafy greens, clover, switchgrass, rye, vetch, and peas.
We'll also plant root vegetables, such as peanuts, ginger, and turmeric. Depending upon the size of the plant, these root vegetables can break up clay and heavy soils. They help create oxygen and nutrient channels, digging tunnels that weaker roots and soft-bodied soil creatures like worms can follow. Mycorrhizal fungi in the soil also play an important role in providing nutrients to our plants!
Get Involved
Photo taken by Jason Reinhardt (volunteer photographer) while the KSU Food Forest team and volunteers plant a wide variety of fruits and vegetables
The KSU Food Forest has dedicated paid Federal Work-Study positions during the school semester. Students who are eligible for Federal Work-Study can apply for these positions through the Handshake system.
We also hire full-time AmeriCorps Summer VISTAs and year-long positions.
Feel like volunteering? We could always use help at events and maintaining the KSU Food Forest & field station.
Contact Professor Vanessa Slinger at vslinger@kennesaw.edu to inquire about these paid positions and volunteer opportunities.
Social Media
Join us on our journey as we continue to develop the KSU Food Forest and learn more about food security and sustainable agriculture by following our KSU Food Forest Instagram @KSUFoodForest and YouTube .
The Seven Layers of a Food Forest
Resources & Sponsors
Jason Reinhardt (Volunteer Photographer)
We give a big thank you to our volunteer photographer Jason Reinhardt who helped photograph one of our first planting days. Jason is a freelance writer, director, and photographer. Visit his website to book a consultation or photoshoot!
We would like to thank CIFAL Atlanta for their recognition and support of the KSU Food Forest.
Its programs provide access to knowledge, experience, resources, and best practices in the areas of social and economic development and environmental sustainability. It aims to foster multi-stakeholder collaboration in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Soil Story by Kiss The Ground
Kiss the Ground is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the potential of regenerative agriculture to address the crisis of climate change, offering an online “pathway” for anyone to find resources and their unique way forward in contributing to this expanding global movement.
