Hi! I'm Natalie-- I'm an artist & tattooer living & working in Austin. I've been working on the core team of the Food Forest for two years. When I moved to Austin, the Food Forest was my first place of connection. I got involved through a friend and quickly fell in love with the project and the people working on it. 

In many ways, as people, our connection to land has been destroyed. In a system that views land through the lens of extraction and short-term benefit, we have become alienated from the lands we inhabit. But the Food Forest is one place where that relationship is being rekindled. The forest exists on public land-- anyone is welcome to join in collectively stewarding it, and everyone is invited to receive its gifts. We give time, money, love, and labor. We receive nourishment, connection, refuge, and wonder.

It's a place that's always here, no matter how many times we move or whether our finances change. It's a place where we grow food and medicine for all, where we regenerate soil and teach each other about plants, where anyone can come to forage or enjoy some shade and peace amongst the trees. It exists without fences, gates, or organizational hierarchy. I've also met some of the most kind, compassionate people I know through this project. Here I've watched relationships blossom, woven new webs of community, and twisted my roots around the roots of others.

In a culture where we're conditioned to value rugged individualism and private property, this project show us another way of being in relationship with land and each other. I think that's really special. It's places like this that remind us that we are not separate from nature-- we are part of it, beautifully entanlged with the natural world around us. We exist in an ongoing cycle of giving and receiving with this land.

One way we can keep that cycle going is to give some of our own personal abundance with this project, multiplying our impact by sharing resources for the whole community's benefit. As we expand onto two more acres of land in phase two, we are looking to raise upwards of $400,000 to fully fund the vision here. We need money to build our community kitchen space, to purchase plants, for tools and irrigation, to offer education, and to pay contractors. You can read more about our project and our needs on the main campaign page!

Thank you for any gift that’s within your means to make. Your contributions are part of a collective investment that will help us sustain and expand the Food Forest, making sure it remains vibrant and accessible for years to come <3

If you plan to donate $50 or more and this is your FIRST TIME donating to the Food Forest, please use this alternative method to donate today to have your gift MATCHED by Austin Community Foundation! When making your donation, select "Specify Organization" and type in "Fruitful Commons-FBFF".

Allyson, Natalie, and her parents Bill & Patty at the Food Forest