Rewilding the Sliparebacken forest garden through Community Agroforestry

The Challenge

While Sweden is one of Europe’s most forest-rich countries, many of these spaces are managed production landscapes shaped by industrial practices. This context has gradually reduced native biodiversity and weakened ecological complexity. The result is that nature is increasingly perceived in fragmented ways, obscuring the deep interconnectedness that is intrinsic to this region. This disconnect is particularly visible in urban environments, where green spaces are designed with ornamental rather than ecological purposes in mind. In fact, these spaces rarely provide opportunities that encourage engagement with provisioning ecosystem services such as conscious foraging, ecological learning, and community stewardship, leaving these dialogues existing only in research articles.

The identified challenge creates a cascade effect for the whole ecosystem and its society, with negative impacts on soil health, pollinator populations, food systems, and community wellbeing. These pressures are increasingly exacerbated by climate change, making both ecological and social restoration paramount. Nevertheless, if change shall start somewhere, this somewhere is Lund. As a university town shaped by engaged youth, interdisciplinary knowledge, and a strong culture of civic participation, Lund holds a strong foundation for ecological and social transformation. For years, local residents, environmental planners, and community groups have engaged in conversations around regenerative land use and urban ecological restoration. When the opportunity emerged to reactivate an abandoned forest garden site, AFAN was ready to act and for this reasons we are now excited to tell you about (and show you) our Sliparebacken project in Lund.

Background

Based at Sliparebacken Skogsträdgård, Lund (Sweden), our project consists of a community-led and agroforestry-based restoration of a public park area. Through a partnership with Lunds Kommun’s municipal environmental planners and local community members, AFAN will work over a two year project cycle (2026-2028) to implement an agroforestry-based gardening program, alongside community-based activities & positive learning experiences which contribute to the garden’s social multifunctionality. The garden is on a secluded half-hectare site known as Sliparebackens ‘Skogsträdgård’ (‘forest garden’), located in the expansive public park, Sankt Hans Backar, in Lund, Sweden. Nevertheless, the project has not been actively sustained, and the site became unmanaged and not adequately utilised as a resource for learning or expression by the local community. Local stakeholders, including creators of the original garden (Karin Hertting, local resident & Janine Österman, forest and agriculture coordinator with Lunds Kommun) highlight the importance of the site and emphasise the urgency of restoring the area to its potential.

Our approach

Taking action on these points, the project was formulated to mobilise natural landscape regeneration while (re-)connecting communities with the space through place-based experiences. Our approach, grounded in agroforestry principles, combines ecological restoration with community capacity-building: through holistic ecosystem management, the project will implement regenerative and biodiversity-supporting practices including native species planting, soil regeneration, mulching, selective canopy management, pollinators habitat creation, erosion prevention, and the introduction of edible and biomass-yielding vegetation layers. The design is aimed at creating multiple vegetation layers that support multifunctional use of the space. At the same time, the project aims to establish a strong social infrastructure around the site. Through workshops, volunteer activities, open planning processes, and recurring public events, community members will have the opportunity to actively participate in restoring and maintaining the forest garden. Our intention is not only to restore a landscape, but also to cultivate long-term ecological stewardship and community resilience in the face of climate change.

Objectives

Logically following our approach, the overall objective of our project is regenerate the Sliparebacken Skogsträdgård area while reconnecting communities with ecological stewardship using agroforestry principles. To achieve this, we have articulated two specific objectives: (1) to restore the ecological functions of a native Swedish forest ecosystem while enhancing the multifunctional productivity of the garden. By 2028, we aim to establish a diverse and resilient agroforestry system reaching approximately 600 stems per hectare, structured across multiple vertical canopy layers and composed of native and climate-adapted species that support biodiversity, pollinators, soil health, and habitat connectivity; (2) to activate and sustain a volunteer network of at least 150 local citizens by 2028 through an inclusive “quadruple helix” approach involving civil society, local government, academia, and grassroots actors. The goal is for participants to develop a sense of ownership toward the site while gaining practical knowledge of agroforestry, restoration, and sustainable land stewardship. The planned restoration activities are intentionally low-cost and ecologically appropriate. These include composting, natural fertilisation, mulching, erosion control, construction of natural-material infrastructure such as raised beds and fencing, installation of pollinator nesting structures, and the planting of native fruit trees, berry bushes, vines, herbs, tubers, and ground-cover species to establish a layered and resilient forest garden ecosystem.

Achievements & Future

AFAN has already demonstrated the viability of this approach, with full endorsement of the Lunds Kommun. Since launching the initiative, we have activated a growing volunteer network of approximately 50 members known as the “Custodians of the forest garden”. These volunteers, primarily local youth, participate in the regular maintenance and restoration of the site through structured community activities and weekly gatherings. Current achievements include the establishment of a strawberry mulch field, the construction of pathways using nature-based materials, extensive maintenance effort, and the organisation of workshops and educational events that have strengthened local engagement with the project across seasons. Community participation has been further supported through consistent outreach campaigns and formalised with our annual and seasonal Sliparebacken Skogsträdgård community events.

Lastly, all AFAN’s members (from board to the custodians) operate entirely through voluntary engagement. Therefore, any grant funding received would be allocated completely toward accelerating the ecological and community objectives of the project. As a youth-led organisation, our main limitation is currently the financial capacity required to scale the physical restoration work: in this funding round we are seeking 5,000 USD to support the next implementation phase of the project. More in detail we aim to purchase and plant 14 native fruit trees, 6 nut trees, including hazel and walnut, native berry and shrub species such as currant, raspberry, blackberry, gooseberry, and blackthorn and wildflower seed mixes and native herbaceous perennials to establish biodiverse vegetation layers across the site. The funding would also support the acquisition of essential maintenance tools, educational signage, and public learning materials that help make the ecological value of the site visible and accessible to visitors. Finally, resources would be invested into expanding workshops and community programming in order to grow the network of custodians and strengthen long-term grassroots stewardship of the forest garden.

Through this project, we aim to demonstrate that ecological restoration in urban spaces must also be a process of social reconnection, one where biodiversity recovery, climate resilience, and community participation evolve together within a shared public space.