Growing Value Nursery 2025 Spring Plant Selection

Find out what we’re carrying this year at Growing Value Edible Nursery! We have selections for every layer of your food forest, specially chosen for what does best in our bioregion and growing zone.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This list reflects everything we’ve ordered for spring, but may NOT show what we currently have in stock. As of mid-April, some orders are still arriving. If you are looking for something specific, we strongly recommend calling (513) 259-3504 or emailing cpinursery@gmail.com to check on what is available.

Scroll to the bottom of the list for a gallery that includes pricing information on all varieties.

food forest trees

APPLE

• Domestic

• Liberty (Dwarf)

• Liberty (SemiDw, Lg/Sm)

• Grimes Golden

• Ruby Rush (Lg/Sm)

• NY 35

• Goldrush

• Dolgo Crab

• Zestar

• Pristine (Dwarf)

• Pristine (SemiDwarf)

• Golden Delicious

ASIAN PEAR

• Hosui

• Yoinashi

• Shinseiki

CHERRY

• Balaton (tart)

• Chelan

• Coral Champagne

• Evans Bali

• Sam

• Skeena

• Sweet Heart

BASSWOOD, American

CHESTNUT, Chinese

DOGWOOD, Gray

ELDERBERRY

• Adams

• Bob Gordon

• Marge

• Ranch (Lg/Sm)

• Wyldewood (Lg/Sm)

• Pocahontas

• York

FIG

• Olympian

• Chicago Hardy

HAWTHORN

• Russian/Black

• Green

HAZELNUT

• Beaked

• Jefferson

• European Hybrid

MULBERRY, American/Red

NECTARINE

• Earliglo

• Summer Beaut

OAK FAMILY

• Bur

• Red

• Swamp White

PAWPAW

• Native (Lg/Sm)

• Allegheny

• Sunflower

PEACH

• Gala

• Bounty

• Indian Free

• Indian Blood

PEAR

• Shenandoah (Lg/Sm)

• Magness

PERSIMMON

• American

• Prairie Star

PLUM

• Black, P. Nigra

• Fortune

• Victory

• Vision

SUMAC, Staghorn

TRIFOLIATE ORANGE

WALNUT FAMILY

• Heartnut

• Hican - Dooley Burton

• Hican - Clarksville

• Hican - McCallister

NITROGEN FIXERS

• Buttonbush (NOT EDIBLE)

• False Indigo

• Redbud

• KY Coffee

• Honey Locust

• Black Locust

• Siberian Pea Shrub

• Wisteria, American

• Groundnut, Apios

FRUITING SHRUBS & VINES

ARONIA

• McKenzie

• Viking

• Black (Lg/Sm)

BLACKBERRY

• Caddo

• Apache

• Chester

• Thornless (unknown var.)

BLUEBERRY

• Northland

• Chippewa

• Blue Sunset

• Duke

• Robeson

BUSH CHERRY

• Jan

• Joel

• Joy

CURRANT

• Consort Black

• Titania Black

• Junk Van Tet Red

• Imperial White

• Pink Champagne

• Golden

GOJI BERRY

• non-variety

• Crimson Star

• Phoenix Tears

GOOSEBERRY

• Amish Red

• Pixwell

• Black Velvet

• Captivator

• Black

• Jahns Prairie

• Unknown var.

GOUMI BERRY

• Carmine

• Sweet Scarlet

• Red Gem

GRAPE

• Reliance

• Mars

HONEYBERRY

• Aurora

• Tundra

• Blizzard

• Beast

• Indigo Treat

• Czech 17

HOPS

• Fuggle

• Sterling

• Sunbeam

• Horizon

• Centennial

• Unknown var.

• Native

JOSTABERRY, Black (Lg/Sm)

KIWI

• Male

• MI State

• Anna (Lg/Sm)

• Arctic Beauty (m/f)

PASSIONFLOWER, Native

RASPBERRY

• Caroline Red

• Heritage Red

• Nova Red

• Boyne Red

• Wine Red

• Jewel Black

• Royalty Purple

• Double Gold

• Anne Yellow

• Fall Gold

ROSE

• Rugosa

• Swamp

• Carolina

SEABERRY

• Male

• Sirola

• Seedlings, unsexed

SERVICEBERRY

• Native

• Success

• Western

SPICEBUSH, Native

HERBACEOUS, GROUND COVER & FORAGE

AMERICAN GINSENG

ANISE HYSSOP

ASPARAGUS

• Purple Passion

• Mary Washington

BAPTISIA, Blue

BEE BALM, M. Fistulosa

BLUE FLAG NATIVE IRIS

BUTTERFLYWEED

COMFREY

• Large Leaf

• Seedless

CONEFLOWER (ECHINACEA)

EGYPTIAN WALKING ONION

FO-TI (TCM HERB)

GARLIC CHIVES

GINGER, Native

HORSERADISH

HORSETAIL

LAVENDER

LEMON BALM

LOVAGE

MOTHERWORT

MOUNTAIN MINT

MULLEIN

NETTLES, Stinging

PRICKLY PEAR

RAMPS

RHUBARB

SAGE, Culinary

SAGEBRUSH (ARTEMISIA)

SELF-HEAL

SOCHAN (CUTLEAF CONEFLOWER)

SOLOMON’S SEAL

• Variegated

• Native

• Giant

SPIDERWORT

STRAWBERRIES

• Jewel

• AC Valley

• Earliglo

• Honeoye

• Gensic

• mixed varieties

SUNCHOKE (JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE)

SWAMP MILKWEED

SWEET FLAG

VALERIAN

YARROW

PRICING INFORMATION BELOW

Use the Left and Right arrows to flip through each page of pricing.

Implementation Follow-Up: Nora & David, 2024

In 2024, CPI selected one of the final designs from the year’s permaculture design course as a candidate for implementation. That site belonged to then-students, now-grads Nora & David of Florence, KY. This spring, we asked for an update on their site and anything they have learned.

What they shared was that they were faced with unexpected setbacks, in the forms of life-changing losses and health events, that changed the trajectory of their permaculture dreams. Though time spent in the garden was limited, there were still lessons learned, which Nora shared with us by email in March:

“Things have settled down a little since this January and we've been able to assess the needs of our plantings. Most of everything survived and all sorts of valuable lessons learned which, for the sake of brevity, I will list:

• Accepting our limitations... circumstances and physical challenges caused us to re-evaluate what we could actually do.

• Adjust and overcome: move EVERYTHING closer to the house and a water source. Incorporating edible bushes and plants into my already existing flower beds.  (There was a mental block all these years in my head from doing this. hahaha. BUT, I'm not alone in thinking this way.)

• Water access is a BIG DEAL. 

• Having just one hose to reach everywhere was a little challenging.

• I put several barrels around our back shed and was quite impressed with how much water was able to be collected! But... in the dead of summer, a 55 gallon barrel was only enough for 1 bed!

• Wood chips and deep mulch REALLY helped.  I'm convinced that this is what kept most of our plants alive when we couldn't get around to watering.

• The raised beds that we installed around some old locust trees created a problem.  We underestimated how even mostly dead locust stumps would send up all sorts of thorny little branches!!!!!  I have begun to move plants from the raised beds to other locations, pulling back soil and cut off those branches.  I plan on burning the stumps to avoid using chemicals to kill them. Once I can be certain that this has fixed the problem, I will probably reinstall raised beds, but use something like metal raised beds.

• Deer pressure was unrelenting... even in the suburbs.  I used netting around several bushes and trees and they still somehow were able to reach through and nip some down!  Taking extra steps to protect everything including Irish spring soap and "Scram" (blood meal).

• Making low cost fertilizer without the typical manures. This has become something I've given a lot of thought to.  I don't trust buying manure from unknown sources due to what cows and horses are eating these days (Graze-On herbicide can be ingested by these animals and pass right through to their manure!).  I'm also not allowed to keep chickens in Florence. While I do purchase some organic fertilizers, this can get expensive.  So, I've focused on comfrey tea as well as fermenting other plant material (inspired by JADAM - a low-cost sustainable organic farming method that originated in Korea).  I've also started growing cover crops like clover and daikon radish.

“I am so grateful to CPI and all those who came out to help,” Nora adds - and we’re thankful to her for sharing her lessons learned this first year post-implementation.

To keep up with our ongoing implementation days, see the full schedule here.

Food Champions of Cincinnati: Nate Hale

In 2024, CPI received a generous grant award from the City of Cincinnati's Boots on the Ground program and set about growing “Food Champions" around the west side of the city. By working with leadership already present in these neighborhoods, we were able to assist in launching ten inspiring projects, each one unique to the group of individuals who conceived and orchestrated it. These folks brought their vision, goals, friends, volunteers and hard work, and CPI helped guide and finance to establish significant food production. This year, we are inviting our Food Champs to share their stories.

Nate Hale, in his own words…

I want to thank the folks at CPI so much for the support over the past year. The fruit-producing trees and shrubs you provided were of exceptional quality, and the planting event, where we added over 20 trees to our growing orchard, was truly inspiring. 

My family and I have immense gratitude for the opportunity to live on and steward this land. We've been transitioning large parts of it from a landscape dominated by a few opportunistic species to a more diverse and balanced ecosystem and incorporating food producing plants. 

Our hope is that this space will continue to become a place for sharing, learning, and building community. My background in production agriculture has instilled in me the importance of integrating annual and perennial food production for a sustainable future. For the past several seasons we have been working on the first phase of the design - to establish a productive market garden where we produce annual and perennial fruit and vegetable, and enact practices to improve overall soil health. 

The recent planting of orchard trees marks a significant step in realizing our vision for a larger orchard as a part of the whole site design. We're also implementing water management techniques, planting nut trees, and reintroducing native species. 

I am incredibly grateful for this partnership in helping us realize this vision and move towards a more resilient way of living and working with the land. I am excited to see how our partnership evolves in the coming years. Food is a beautiful and inspiring aspect of life, and I am grateful for the opportunity to interact with it in this way. 

Food Champions of Cincinnati: Ellie Suggs' Story

In 2024, CPI received a generous grant award from the City of Cincinnati's Boots on the Ground program and set about growing “Food Champions" around the west side of the city. By working with leadership already present in these neighborhoods, we were able to assist in launching ten inspiring projects, each one unique to the group of individuals who conceived and orchestrated it. These folks brought their vision, goals, friends, volunteers and hard work, and CPI helped guide and finance to establish significant food production. This year, we are inviting our Food Champs to share their stories.

Ellie Suggs

In her own words…

I’ve lived in Cincinnati my whole life - when I was born my family lived in Cheviot, and we’ve always identified as proud West Siders, so taking the job as Director of Agriculture at Cincinnati Urban Promise (CUP) in Westwood felt like coming full circle!

My overarching interests are in human food security and ecological restoration, so I have loved learning about permaculture’s applications in edible landscapes through CPI!

My journey with growing started in college, where I majored in Biology and researched population genetics of native plants to support the habitat restoration efforts of Great Parks. Since then, I’ve shifted my efforts to focus more directly on making food and outdoor education more accessible to urban areas.

At CUP, my job is to provide local preK-12th grade students with agricultural and conservation education so they can grow up to be food-independent residents who care about the ecological wellbeing of our city. To aid in this, we are striving to create an almost entirely edible landscape on our property, with plantings of native perennials and annual vegetables along with some pollinator plantings for education (and aesthetics!).

When I saw Susan VonderHaar’s gardens at Dater Montessori, I just knew I needed to collaborate with her! Sure enough, CPI has been an invaluable partner thus far as CUP now has a fruit tree orchard and berry patch where we used to have lawn and weeds. We are so excited to see what the rest of 2025 brings!

Stay tuned for more Food Champion stories!

CPI Featured on Cincinnati Bucket List

We were featured in a Redfin article! Check it out here: Things to Do in Cincinnati: A Bucket

List of Adventures in Cincinnati

Growing Value Nursery: 175+ Varieties Available Starting Spring 2024

Cincinnati Permaculture Institute’s Growing Value Nursery carries a specialized selection of edible perennial trees, shrubs, bushes, and berries, along with complimentary plantings for your food forests and guilds, such as flowers to attract pollinators and perennial ground covers. This rare selection has been curated over the years to include the varieties and species that perform well in our local bio-region and includes many edibles that are hard to find at traditional nurseries and garden centers. By shopping at Growing Value, you help support CPI’s mission to catalyze a resilient culture in Cincinnati.

FULL PLANT LIST - A to Z

Below is a list of all of the plants we expect to have available for sale starting this spring. However, this list may not reflect our current inventory, so if you are looking for something specific or want to ask before you buy, please feel free to reach out by email or call (513) 259-3504 for the most up to date information.

((SCROLL DOWN FOR PRICING INFORMATION))

• Anise hyssop

• Apple, Arkansas Black

• Apple, Domestic

• Apple, Enterprise

• Apple, Gold Rush

• Apple, Grimes Golden

• Apple, Liberty

• Apple, Pristine

• Apple, Zestar

• Aroniaberry/Chokeberry, Nero

• Aroniaberry/Chokeberry, Viking

• Asian Pear, Hosui

• Asian Pear, Shinsui

• Asian pear, Tennosui

• Asian pear, Yoinashi

• Asparagus

• Asparagus, Purple passion

• Basswood/Linden, Native

• Beebalm/Monarda

• Black Locust

• Blackberry, Arkansas Prime

• Blackberry, Osage

• Blackberry, Triple Crown

• Blueberry, Blueray

• Blueberry, Bonus

• Blueberry, Duke

• Blueberry, Jersey

• Blueberry, Northland

• Blueberry, Patriot

• Bur Oak

• Butternut

• Buttonbush

• Cherry, Carmine Jewel

• Cherry, Chelan

• Cherry, Coral Champaign

• Cherry, Evans

• Cherry, Lapins

• Cherry, Sam

• Cherry, Skeena

• Cherry, Sweetheart

• Cherry, Tart, Mt. Morancy

• Chestnut, Chinese

• Comfrey

• Coneflower

• Currant, Black Consort

• Currant, Black Titania

• Currant, Pink Champagne

• Currant, Red Cherry

• Currant, Red Jonkheer Van Tets

• Currant, Red Lake

• Currant, White Primus

• Dogwood, Cornelian Cherry

• Dogwood, Gray (Native)

• Dwarf Mulberry

• Egyptian walking onion

• Elderberry, Adams

• Elderberry, Bob Gordon

• Elderberry, Marge

• Elderberry, Native

• Elderberry, Nova

• Elderberry, York

• False Indigo (Baptisia)

• False Indigo, (Amorpha)

• Fig, Olympian

• Goji Berry, Crimson Star

• Gooseberry, Amish red

• Gooseberry, Black Velvet

• Gooseberry, Captivator

• Gooseberry, Hinnomaki red

• Gooseberry, Pixwell

• Goumi Berry, Carmine

• Goumi Berry, Sweet Scarlet

• Grape, Agria

• Grape, Mars

• Grape, Niagra

• Grape, Reliance

• Green Hawthorn

• Groumi, Red Gem

• Hazelnut, American

• Hazelnut, beaked

• Hazelnut, Jefferson

• Heartnut

• Hican, Clarksville

• Hican, Dooley Burton

• Hican, Mcallister

• Honeyberry, Aurora

• Honeyberry, Boreal Beast

• Honeyberry, Boreal Beauty

• Honeyberry, Czech

• Honeyberry, Tundra

• Hops, Fugle

• Hops, Nugget

• Hops, Sterling

• Horseradish

• Jostaberry, black

• Jostaberry, Red

• Jujubee

• Jujubee, Shanxi Li

• Kentucky Coffee tree, Native

• Kiwi, Anna

• Kiwi, Male

• Kiwi, MI State

• Mountain Ash

• Mountain Mint

• Mulberry

• Mullein

• Nettle, Skinny, Native

• Nettle, Stinging

• Passionflower

• Pawpaw, Mange

• Pawpaw, Native

• Pawpaw, NC-1

• Pawpaw, PA golden

• Pawpaw, Sunflower

• Peach, Gala

• Peach, Red Haven

• Pear, Magness

• Pear, Potomac

• Pear, Shenandoah

• Pecan, Kanza

• Persimmon, American

• Persimmon, Asian

• Plum, American

• Plum, chickasaw

• Plum, Satsuma

• Prickly pear

• Quince, Champion

• Raspberry, Boyne Red

• Raspberry, Double Gold

• Raspberry, Heritage Red

• Raspberry, Jewel Black

• Raspberry, Purple Royalty

• Raspberry, Yellow Anne

• Red Cedar (Juniper)

• Red Mulberry (Native)

• Red Oak

• Redbud

• Rhubarb, Green victoria

• Rhubarb,Crimson Red

• Rose, Rugosa

• Seaberry, Frugana

• Seaberry, Golden Sweet

• Seaberry, Male

• Senna

• Serviceberry, Downy (Native)

• Serviceberry, Northline

• Serviceberry, Regent

• Serviceberry, Western

• Siberian Peashrub

• Sochan/ Cutleaf Coneflower, Native

• Solomon Seal

• Spearmint

• Spicebush, Native

• Spiderwort

• Strawberry, AC Valley

• Strawberry, Gensics

• Strawberry, Honey

• Strawberry, Jewel

• Strawberry, Native

• Sumac, Staghorn

• Sunchokes/Jerusalem artichoke

• Super spur Mayhaw

• Swamp Rose, Native

• Swamp White Oak

• Sweet Annie

• Sweet Flag (Acorus americana)

• Sweetshrub/carolina allspice

• Trifoliate Orange

• White Pine

• White Sagebrush

• Wild Ginger, Native

• Wineberry, Red

• Wisteria, Native

• Witch hazel, Native

• Yarrow

• Yucca

Spring 2024 Volunteer Opportunities

Want to help Cincinnati Permaculture Institute prepare for the spring season and maybe learn some new gardening skills along the way? Below is our volunteer schedule.

NURSERY

Saturday, February 10, 11-2:

Saturday, March 9th, 11-2

Saturday, March 30th, 11-2

Wednesdays, April 17 and 24th, 4-dusk

Tuesdays in May: May 7, 14 and 28, 5 PM to 8 PM

Our nursery manager Howard Zuefle will be onsite for all volunteer days providing instruction and access to our tools and materials. Come dressed for the weather, whatever it may be! Our nursery is at 824 Enright Ave. Price Hill Cincinnati (in the back of the lot, behind the greenhouse) and parking is available on Enright and Terry St.

OTHER PROJECTS

Sunday, February 18, 2-4 p.m.: Button Making at the Reading branch of the Cincinnati Public Library - Help our events & marketing committee make buttons to use at our events table this year. All supplies provided. Kids welcome!

SIGN UP

Registration is not required, but signing up helps us communicate with you in the event of a change, cancellation, or other details for each volunteer date. Use this link to be added to our volunteer roster!

QUESTIONS?

Contact us at info@cincinnatipermacultureinstitute.org

Raising a Toast: Ten Kinds of Gratitude for 2023

It is said that success results when opportunity meets preparation.

This is meaningful to me in my first full year as Director of Cincinnati Permaculture Institute. Nothing comes about in a vacuum. It’s always a number of people and events that align for a path of success; that help you prepare, that bring opportunities.

It seems my primary duty this year was to observe and interact with the exciting energy that has been channeled to CPI. In 2023 we welcomed five new guest teachers into three PDC classes that were filled with warm, eager learners. The PDC courses have delivered the five newest board members to us and they keep us moving forward. Our founders remain and provide sage guidance.  Our deepening relationships with committed communities and individuals hold great promise for future developments.

At times I have felt pushed to my personal limits when presented with decision-making and the discomfort of growing pains. But I know we are on very solid ground and well prepared for the opportunities that await us. After all, we create our own success, yes?!

Susan VonderHaar

Together We’re Better: Ten Kinds of Gratitude for 2023

Growing Value Nursery gets some TLC before spring plant sales start

October Harvest Festival Potluck Dinner

Making art with compostable veggies at the Summer Solstice party

Westwood Grows bed installations

Learning about soil at the July 2023 PDC at Antioch

Our 2023 Yearlong PDC Graduates + Lead Teacher Doug Crouch

• New “Neighbors” : We welcomed 12 new members, or as we like to call them, Neighbors, through our membership program that sustains and supports us. We look forward to seeing them at the Growing Value nursery, where members enjoy additional discounts and special shopping hours.

• OneSource gave us a nonprofit wellness check-up and found our organization to be dedicated, effective, transparent, and responsible stewards of our resources. Their suggested strategy is to build our capacity to increase impact. Maybe you or someone you know would be interested in joining our board or working with a committee? 

• Expanding Beyond Cincinnati: Antioch College in Yellow Springs asked us to partner in offering a summer intensive PDC in July. This partnership continues with the second offering scheduled for Spring of 2024. 

• Record-Breaking Growth: The flagship Year Long Permaculture Design Course saw a record number of registrants, growing our total number of graduates to over 300 in 15 years.

• Clear the Nursery: Growing Value Nursery nearly sold out of stock this year! We were able to source some stock locally and organically from growers in the bioregion. New plants arrive in April. 

• Neighborhood Impact: Thanks to the City of Cincinnati’s Office of Urban Agriculture grant funding, we partnered with Westwood Grows and Lincoln Heights Community Development Council and installed perennial, edible plants in nine different residences, schools, and churches. 

• Bringing the Party: We hosted or joined several events, including Spring and Fall Plant Sales, a Harvest Celebration at the Price Hill Greenhouse, the Monarch Festival at Christ the King Church, and a beautiful Summer Solstice gathering at Treasure Lake.

• Getting Our Hands Dirty: We broke ground on our newest continuing education program, “Permaculture Implementation,” on December 9 in Florence, KY with 17 volunteers.

• We Are the Champions: We join many other Green Cincinnati Plan Champions working on six action steps, including “Training farmers and gardeners to increase success, including adaptation to a changing climate.”

• All Aboard: We extend a very special thanks to our board and committee members who work tirelessly to improve CPI and strengthen our community web.

We can’t say it enough: THANK YOU for being part of our mission to create a resilient permanent culture in Cincinnati. We are here for you, with you, and because of you, whether you’re a PDC student, a teacher, a community leader, a nursery customer, a volunteer, a neighbor — you are part of this ecosystem and your contribution matters!

Introducing Our Pilot Implementation Program, Featuring Student Designs

Cincinnati Permaculture Institute’s growing community of permaculture design graduates has been asking us for implementation opportunities and continued education that will give them skills beyond just designing systems and experience actually building them. In other words: you’re ready to get your hands dirty!

In permaculture, one element can serve many functions. As our board brainstormed different ways we could meet this emerging need in our community, we discerned that an output that our classes already produce - student design projects - could become the input for a new implementation education initiative. By selecting a student design project from each year’s class to begin implementing, we create a natural pathway for succession while creating opportunities for our community to come work together and stay engaged with each other past the completion of the class. Our hope is that the selected sites become part of our larger network of educational sites throughout the region that future students can learn from. 

Choosing the Pilot Site

Six designs were presented at the end of the most recent yearlong PDC for six very different sites across Cincinnati. The CPI board reviewed and discussed these designs and narrowed down the selection to one project to sponsor a Phase I implementation at that site. We considered factors such as the scale and scope of the project, the location of the site and access for the surrounding community, and the types of projects that our organization could best support with materials and funding. 

Jess Rinehart presents her segment of the group design for The Shire.

With so much appreciation for the efforts of all of our students this year, who made our job incredibly hard by submitting six excellent designs, we are pleased to announce that the selected site project is "The Shire" - a half-acre suburban homestead in Boone County Kentucky, designed by Jess Rinehart, Jeremy Janson, and Shaher Banu Vagh.

For more than 25 years, this site has been home to PDC classmates David and Nora Brown, who affectionately call their home “The Wallace Avenue Center for the Reality Impaired” and regularly host gatherings there. The group's proposed design includes a food forest, a meditation garden, water catchment solutions, and a passive solar greenhouse.

Nora and David Brown watch the presentation of the group who designed for their site.

CPI will work with the Browns to determine an implementation plan for part of this design in the coming year. Look forward to future announcements of our plans and opportunities to get involved!

Meet Our Graduates: Ayla Bella of Rooting Resilience

CPI students come from all walks of life and bring a diversity of experience and knowledge to our community. In this feature we introduce you to some of our graduates, the work that they’re doing, and how their permaculture education has benefited them.

Rooting Resilience: A Young Nonprofit Focused on Community Forest Gardens

Hello, everyone! My name is Ayla Bella, I am a 2023 graduate of a Cincinnati Permaculture Institute Permaculture Design Course (summer intensive at Antioch College) and the founder of Rooting Resilience, a permaculture-based organization. I’m excited to share our vision with you!

In my city of Columbus, Ohio, much of the public land I see is greatly underutilized. Parks have grass lawns that provide no protection from urban heat, community centers and libraries are bordered by landscaping or grass, and many lots lie vacant. Similarly, there is a great disparity in tree coverage between communities, varying from 41% to 9%. The city has several wonderful initiatives, like the Urban Forestry Master Plan, to address these issues, but more must be done.

Rooting Resilience, the nonprofit organization I am establishing, is focused on creating community forest gardens on this underutilized public land, with the mission to cultivate resilience, equity, community empowerment, and connection to the earth and her inhabitants. Forest gardens have the opportunity to address many problems at once by reducing food insecurity, climate change impacts, and inequity in access to food and green space - but I’m sure you all knew that already! We have been networking with the Columbus community for several months and have an eye on a few sites for pilot projects in the spring in partnership with Recreation and Parks. 

If this mission excites you, below are some ways you can help!

1. If you know of nurseries or seed companies that may be interested in donating plants, seeds, or materials please contact us at rootingourresilience@gmail.com. 

2. If you’re interested in supporting us while staying up-to-date on our projects, follow us on Instagram (@rootingresilience) and Facebook (Rooting Resilience) and share these accounts with others!

3. If you’d like to make a financial contribution to support our forest garden pilot project, this link will take you to the donation page for our fiscal sponsor, Local Matters. Important note: for a donation to go to Rooting Resilience, you must write “Rooting Resilience” in the donor notes section of the donation page. Otherwise, you will be donating to one of Local Matters’ other worthy causes! 

If you have any other thoughts, ideas, or connections, you can reach us at rootingourresilience@gmail.com. 

Thank you for your support!