The Southern Heights Food Forest is growing the number of forest gardens and perennial ecosystems in residential spaces all across Lincoln and the state. We seek to create advocates for natural spaces and instill a love of nature from a young age. 

The mission of the Southern Heights Food Forest (SHFF) is to create an inclusive space where we teach each other the value and possibilities of food, play, and ecological resilience. Located at 40th and Old Cheney in Lincoln, we host a wide variety of fruit and nut trees, surrounded by fruit bushes, edible ground covers, and many native and drought-tolerant perennials. Within this space, an outdoor Nature Explore Classroom allows kids a chance to discover more about the natural world through exploring art, food, and nature-based play. We are one of less than 100 public food forests across the nation and the first in Nebraska.

We are requesting support from UBT and the broader community to allow us to dramatically expand our outreach and educational programming to young children and adults throughout the city of Lincoln as well as make significant improvements to our flagship site.

We plan to create ecological advocates and gardening enthusiasts by offering children (and their parents) a place that fosters their curiosity and creativity, a place for children to run, jump, dig, and play without steel-forged or rubberized equipment, and a place for all to forage and sample the bounty that nature offers alongside the diversity of creatures created by it. Please vote for the Southern Heights Food Forest to win a grant in the Big Give, presented by UBT!