“The Back 18” is zoned exclusively for agricultural production purposes and will include walkways throughout as well as a connection to the nearby Burke Gilman Trail. It is our plan to develop this piece of the property into an “agri-urban park” that can be accessible to the whole community. We will bring this land — fallow and overgrown for years — back to active cultivation and design the property as a bio-diverse farmstead with walk-able trails that allow for physical activity, interpretive signage to tell the history of the land and explain the farming practices being used, and demonstrate sustainable and organic farming practices.

21 Acres will create a central gathering place where community members of all ages can engage with farmers, gardeners, nutritionists, environmental stewards, and each other to learn about healthy nutrition and land use practices. Our project seeks to demonstrate that there are smarter and more ecologically sensitive ways for people to interact with their environment (this includes everything from the selection of produce, to the use of composting toilets and solar panels).

NATURAL ECO-SYSTEMS AT WORK

The Back 18 Farm & Trails have been designed with permacultural principles in mind.  Permacultural design aims to replicate in man-made farms and gardens the patterns found in natural ecosystems to protect their stability and diversity.  This philosophy of farming runs counter to the popular thinking in large-scale commercial farming where eco-diversity is ignored in favor of economies of scale. In the long run, our eco-friendly approach to design will yield a more sustainable natural habitat.

Photos courtesy Vince Carlson.