Well packed and armed with a few shovels, we traveled to the Achterhoek early this month. The destination: our food forest in Neede. An important task awaited us: planting the first trees of our forest. In cooperation with Trees for All, we and other sponsors are helping the Mekking family transform their former cattle farm into a food forest for the future. Together, we are realizing a total of 11.4 acres of food forest. And that’s important, because food forests help store CO2, improve soil quality and restore biodiversity. They also contribute to a healthy living environment, where residents and visitors are in touch with nature and can enjoy local products. It’s still a while away, but our food forest will eventually produce a variety of nuts, fruits, seeds and berries.