A Food Forest comes to Rhinelander

You may notice as you travel around the city lately that trees are being planted in yards and along roadways, made possible by grant funding for a project entitled “Rhinelander Urban Forest Recovery & Revitalization.” This three-year grant will fund multiple activities that make Rhinelander a greener place to live.

Rhinelander city forester Tom Jerow is partnering with the Oneida County land and water conservation department to plant trees on public and private lands, focusing on native trees that support pollinators. 

A major part of this project will be a Food Forest for all to enjoy! But what is a Food Forest? 

A Food Forest is a garden of edible plants that looks like a forest. Like a natural forest, it has plants of various heights (trees, shrubs, perennials, self-seeding annuals, ground cover) that grow together in vertical layers. Within the Food Forest, a variety of conditions and microhabitats are created, favoring an array of plants with diverse requirements. In this way the plants in the Food Forest support each other. 

A Food Forest garden is self-perpetuating, self-fertilizing, self-mulching, self-pollinating, self-healing, and resistant to pests and diseases.

When designing a Food Forest, plants are chosen that help create healthy soil rather than using fertilizer. By planting thickly and not removing fallen leaves and debris, the plants themselves provide shade and suppress weeds. 

The diverse greenery attracts beneficial insects to pollinate and control insect pests. Landscaping can be designed to keep rainwater on the site, and mindful placement creates micro-climates and windbreaks. 

Although Rhinelander’s Food Forest is in the early stages, a committee has been meeting to make plans and choose one or more location. The garden will be planted by master gardeners and volunteers. Once established, fruits, berries, and edible plants will be available for all to enjoy. For more information or to volunteer:

• Look for Food Forest signs at the Earth Day Fair, Nicolet College, April 22, from 3 to 7 p.m.

• Contact Jerow, Rhinelander city forester, at 715-401-1578 or [email protected].

This project is funded by the Inflation Reduction Act and USDA Forest Service through Wisconsin DNR.