You are right, my practical experience with food forests is minimal, but here and there I had already came across food forests. In my first year at Van Hall Larenstein I was shown a documentary; ‘A farm for the future’. That was not only my first contact with the problems in agriculture, but also with the solution such as permaculture and … Food forests. That documentary was the reason I decided to go to Wageningen for the master Organic Agriculture.
The great thing about studying in Wageningen is that the campus is in the middle of agricultural land. But I also see how monotonous and empty it can be. The same perennial ryegrass everywhere. When I walk there, something strange happens in my head. The land is no longer drained, the water is given a place in the fields. Paths begin to meander around. The first pioneering trees start growing followed by fruit trees and finally beautiful, majestic walnut trees. Shrubs and other perennial plants fill the remaining gaps and suddenly I am walking between the most beautiful food forests.
I visited fewer food forests than I would like during this corona internship, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Because of their early stage of development, you need your imagination. The good thing is that you don’t have to leave your home for dreams.
Is such a food forest dream recognizable to you Jeroen?