The LFG Project
What is a forest garden?
A forest garden is a garden modelled on a natural woodland. In a natural woodland there are several layers of vegetation, including trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. In an edible forest garden the tree layer contains fruit and nut trees, the shrub layer contains soft fruit and hazelnut bushes and the ground layer contains perennial vegetables and herbs. The soil is not dug. It is usually a very diverse garden, containing a wide variety of edible plants. Many gardens contain the same things as a forest garden, but usually each item is grown separately, as in an orchard, soft fruit area, vegetable patch and herb bed. The distinguishing feature of a forest garden is that all of these crops are grown together on the same piece of ground, one above the other.
Why have an organic garden?​
The organic approach to gardening and farming recognizes that the whole environment in which plants grow is much more than the sum of its individual parts. It also recognizes that all living things are inter-related and inter-dependent.
Here are some of the features of organic growing:
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Treating the soil and growing environment as a resource to be managed for future generations, rather than mined for short-term gain.
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Providing plants with a balanced food supply by feeding the many creatures that live in the soil with composts, manures and other organic materials.
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Combating pests and diseases without using pesticides that may prove harmful to human health and that of domestic and wild animals.
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Encouraging and protecting wildlife, by creating suitable habitats.
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Creating a safe and pleasant environment in which to work and play.
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What is Local Agenda 21?
Agenda 21 is the abbreviated form of ‘Agenda for the 21st. Century’. Agenda 21 is the international action plan agreed by 179 world leaders in Rio at the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit on Environment and Development.
It sets out how the world’s governments should tackle environmental issues such as global warming, pollution, waste, the ozone layer and the diversity of the natural environment, as well as the interdependent problems of poverty, population, health and the consumption of the world’s resources.
Agenda 21 raises awareness that what individuals and communities do locally affects the global picture. It asks local organizations in every country to prepare strategies for sustainable development and to make sure that all sections of the population are represented in the decision-making, planning and implementation.
Hence Local Agenda 21 is about people participating actively at a local level in setting their own agenda for community development so that they achieve a good quality of life, as well as a good quality environment.
There are many examples of actions that local communities can support:
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Cut down on waste. Recycle materials such as paper, cans and bottles.
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Save water, save energy and natural resources. Prevent and reduce pollution of the environment.
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Travel sensibly, share cars, improve community transport.
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Look after the local environment. Promote tree-planting and sustainable forest gardens.
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Support local amenities and organizations.
”We can live in a more natural and environmentally-friendly way and significantly improve our quality of life. By thinking carefully about the way we use our resources – food, energy, shelter and other material and non-material needs – it is possible to get much more out of life by using less. We can be more productive for less effort, reaping benefits for our environment and ourselves, for now and for generations to come“.
Helen Carey, National Federation of Women’s Institutes