A 'food forest' in Mattapan is a space to harvest food and grow community

There’s a park in Mattapan, and it’s … edible.

It’s a quarter-acre “food forest" — a formerly vacant lot now filled with fruit trees, berry bushes and mushrooms. Unlike community gardens, food forests mimic natural ecosystems, with a focus on native food-bearing plants that provide habitat for insects and birds. Anyone in the community could harvest food for free.

The Edgewater Food Forest is a collaborative effort between neighborhood groups, the city of Boston, and the nonprofit Boston Food Forest Coalition, a community land trust that has helped build 10 of these sites so far.