Forum—Planting Seeds of Hope: The Story of the Boston Food Forest Coalition

Join Newton Community Farm as we welcome Orion Kriegman, Executive Director of the Boston Food Forest Coalition (BFFC) to share the story of the creation and ongoing work of BFFC. Building on the Community Land Trust model, BFFC has now established 14 food forest parks in Boston. These third spaces build community resilience, engage democracy, and strengthen civil society all while transforming vacant lots into edible public parks.

Come be inspired by this story of building community resilience, climate resilience, and a city more prepared to adapt to climate change. 

This forum is made possible thanks to The Bard Family Environmental Education Fund.

Come hear the story of the Boston Food Forest Coalition. May it inspire you to ask: What is mine to do?

This event is free but registration is requested. Parking is available in front of the Campus Center or where spaces are available.

About Orion Kriegman

Having worked for many years at the Tellus Institute and the Institute for Policy Studies on the global climate challenge and the transition to a new economy, Orion Kriegman has served as the Executive Director of the Boston Food Forest Coalition since 2015. In that role, he has helped grow the organization’s impact and advance the goal of establishing 30 food forest parks by 2030.

Prior to the creation of BFFC, Orion earned his Master’s in Public Policy and Urban Planning from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. In 2015, he completed his Permaculture Design Certificate while studying with Lisa Fernandes of the Resilience Hub in Portland, Maine.

Orion believes that hope stems from faith and trust in life. He believes that if we slow down and listen, plants may teach us how to realign human civilization with the regenerative capacity of the Earth.

He lives in Jamaica Plain with his two daughters, who enjoy planting flowers throughout the city.

About the Boston Food Forest Coalition

In 2015, dozens of neighbors across Boston came together to create a city-wide Community Land Trust (shared community ownership of land) that we named the Boston Food Forest Coalition. Today, in 2026, hundreds of neighbors have joined this effort. Together, we are reclaiming vacant lots and transforming them into edible public parks filled with fruit and nut trees. We now have 14 food forest parks in our coalition!

Each food forest park is a patch of community resilience (strength and ability to adapt). These spaces connect neighbors of all ages across urban divides of language, culture, race, and class. They help build our “democracy muscle” (skills and habits of participation and shared decision-making). They create a third space (a welcoming place outside of home and work) where people celebrate birthdays, cook and share meals, and gather for annual harvest festivals. Each food forest park builds local leadership and strengthens civil society (community relationships and local organizations) at a time when active participation in democratic citizenship feels under strain.

We all belong. When we nurture the land, it nourishes us in return. Each food forest park is a patch of community resilience. Stitched together, these food forest parks form a quilt of climate resilience, helping our city adapt to climate change.