Food Forest
The Green Infrastructure Center (GIC) and the Darlington Housing Authority (DHA) received a grant from the South Carolina Foresty Commission (SCFC) to design and install a Food Forest on DHA land on Bacote St. in the City of Darlington. This is the first project of its kind in the Pee Dee Region. In past years, the SCFC grant funds created Food Forest projects in Charleston and Spartanburg and there will be several more in the coming months in Lake City, Goose Creek, and Summerville in addition to this one in Darlington.
The DHA site was identified by the GIC during Trees4SC work with the City of Darlington. The site is a pecan grove with a tradition of community members foraging for pecans here. Building on this tradition GIC designed a food forest where foraging is expanded to include blueberries, figs, pomegranates, plums, blackberries and much more. A Food Forest is a multilayered edible landscape designed to mimic and work with nature. Unlike an orchard, the trees and shrubs are woven into a complex garden design with layers such as canopy trees, small trees, shrubs, herbs, and groundcovers all working together like a natural system. The Food Forest and community garden will be open to the public to enjoy.
A community planting day was organized by GIC and DHA for Arbor Day, December 6th, 2025. Around 30 volunteers showed up to plant trees and shrubs and build raised garden beds. Volunteers included groups from Mayo High School's Eco Club, DHA staff, Clemson Cooperative Extension, Master Gardeners, Darlington Presbyterian Church, and other interested individuals. Many hands made light work with 200 trees and shrubs planted in a little over 2 hours. Several folks stayed another hour in the rain to put together planter boxes and fill them with soil. A second planting day will take place in the spring to plant the herb and ground cover layers in the forest as well as plant the raised beds with vegetables.
The food forest project adds to the City of Darlington's overall urban forest. The trees in the urban forest provide 'ecosystem services' such as cleaner water, air, shade, stormwater uptake and aesthetic values. According to the GIC's Director of Landscape Design and Landscape Architect Lauren Doran "The Darlington Food Forest is a multilayered edible landscape that will provide fresh fruit for the community throughout the growing season but it will also be a place of beauty with spring blossoms and fall color, it will soak up stormwater, it will provide a shady spot in summer, and it will provide habitat to birds and pollinators. My greatest hope is that it will become a bright, sweet spot for all to enjoy."
