Floodwater in the Forest Garden: Passive Irrigation, Swales, etc.
We've had an interesting few days, with nearly a foot of snow disappearing overnight as warm rainy weather moved in from the south. Several inches of rain dropped, and combined with snowmelt to produce major flooding throughout our region here on the shortest days of the year.
Ephemeral streams and ponds formed throughout the forest garden. Surface water flowed downslope and interacted with a network of swales, basins, and channels that we've created to distribute and retain floodwater throughout the garden. I saw many opportunities for improvements to this system. These events do not occur very often, maybe once or twice a year, so it is important to document and take advantage of this time by observing how water flows through the landscape. Our goal is to capture as much of this runoff as we can and store it as plumes of groundwater.
Harvesting floodwater not only helps our plants grow, it mitigates flooding for downstream communities. Our watershed should act as a sponge, soaking up as much water as possible, and providing wetland habitat for our native biodiversity. Instead, we tend to see increasing channelization of runoff, diverting water into more direct routes to the sea, resulting in more damaging flooding which we channelize further... This mentality of seeing flood water as a nuisance instead of a resource needs to change if we are to design more sustainable communities and overcome the challenges of a changing climate.
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The purpose of this work is to establish a low-maintenance food production system that engages the community in sustainable & ethical land management. It is intended to provide food / medicine / materials as well as provide interdisciplinary educational opportunities for people of all ages & backgrounds.
This work demonstrates more sustainable agricultural practices such as agroecology (agriculture that mimics natural ecological systems), permaculture (sustainable & self-sufficient design), regenerative agriculture (conservation approach that focuses on topsoil regeneration, biodiversity, improving water cycle, biosequestration, & mitigating climate change), agroforestry & silvopasture (integration of trees & shrubs with animals), organic agriculture (growing & processing food without the use of synthetic fertilizers & pesticides), and food sovereignty (the right to healthy & culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound & sustainable methods), among others.
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