Merkaba Acres
Location: Bobcaygeon, Ontario
Goals & Intentions:
Develop a diverse cider orchard with apples, pears, berries, and stone fruits
Reduce reliance on irrigation by maximizing rainwater and runoff capture
Minimize seasonal runoff and enhance soil moisture retention
Solutions & Work:
Designed a grading plan incorporating swales to manage seasonal runoff and improve water distribution
Created swales on contour to capture excess rainwater and enhance biodiversity
Developed a planting design with 30+ fruiting species for cider production
Established a diverse orchard featuring apples, pears, and berries to support long-term cidery operations
Cold Springs Farm
Port Hope, Ontario
Goals & Intentions:
Establish an organic CSA farm and orchard
Address water drainage issues—excess water pooling in the production area while other areas remained dry
Enhance the existing old orchard with complementary polycultures
Increase biodiversity and wildlife habitat
Solutions & Work:
Developed a grading plan using swales to capture and redistribute seasonal runoff efficiently
Installed culverts and swales to manage water flow, reducing flooding in key areas
Designed a seasonally dry riverbed to divert water from the residence and create an attractive pollinator garden
Improved growing conditions while increasing biodiversity and wildlife habitat
Durham Catholic District School Board
The Durham Catholic District School Board (DCDSB) and Foggy River Farm have been working together to co-create outdoor learning environments with students at several schools. Working from an experiential outdoor education approach, the team at Foggy River plays, designs and builds with students, all the while peaking curiosity so that students become the stewards of their own schoolyards.
Education Intentions
To distil student connection to the landscape through direct experience, hands-on projects, observation and exploration
To help students understand their role in their local ecosystem, which includes their classroom, their entire school, the schoolyard and the larger landscape
To foster a deep sense of stewardship through helping students design and build outdoor environments where they can explore their curiosity
To encourage self-awareness through the sharing of this curiosity and land-based action with others
Project Features
Small food forest/perennial gardens
Annual vegetable gardens
Cultural/spiritual gardens specific to each school
Student-led design processes, reflected through storytelling and maps, graphics and anecdotes
Constructed areas completed with mainly raw and local materials, where possible
FRF Role
Custom creation and development of student workshops
Creation of content for curriculum-based learning
Project Management (tracking budgets, material sourcing and sharing this process with the students)
Direct facilitation of workshops with the students
Responsible for the physical safety of the students during the construction phases
Lead the creation of safe and functional designs
The Second Wedge Brewing Co.
A special project close to home! Foggy River Design was delighted to design and install a beer garden, converting an old gravel parking lot into an accessible and welcoming outdoor oasis.
Location: Uxbridge, Ontario
Design Intentions
Represent the culture of Second Wedge by utilizing local artists, contractors and materials
Create comfortable social gathering opportunities for groups up to 25
Design planting solutions that support brewery activities and functions
Be accessible and create privacy from adjacent road
Project Features
Raised planters using all reclaimed and re-purposed materials
Woodworking by Jeff Baker Woodworks
Hardscaping by Valleyview Landscapes
A living wall, with cedar post and cable trellising for beans, grapes and kiwis
A naturalized cedar hedge showcasing various berries, herbs and hops
FRF Role
Concept design facilitation
Project management for design & build (budgets, material sourcing, integrating contractors and artists, scheduling)
Testing beer, frequently
Tycoed Homestead
Located in Uxbridge, the Tycoed project has been a great source of inspiration and delight for the Foggy River Farm Design team. This 17 acre property has forests, ponds and creeks, diverse plant and animal life and amazing views to the north and the Lake Simcoe Watershed. The space is shared between three families living in “recycled” log homes from the 1840’s. Foggy River Farm Design has worked with the Tycoed family to undertake a multi-phase restorative farm project.
The master plan of this property now includes both annual and perennial vegetable garden spaces, a large terraced hillside orchard, a small apiary and accompanying pollinator garden, mushroom production, woodlot management and successional strategies, and a greenhouse and yoga studio.
Location: Uxbridge, ON
Design Goals & Intentions
Create a beautiful landscape
Create a master plan for the 17 acre property
Become a teaching space to showcase the broader concepts of ecovillage and intentional community living, inspiring others to take action
Create a sustainable business model
Project Features:
Annual and perennial vegetable gardens
3-acre terraced hugelkultur hillside polyculture orchard
Mushroom production
Small apiary with accompanying pollinator garden
Woodlot management and successional planning
Freshwater pond to accomodateskating and stand up paddleboarding
FRF Design Role:
Site Analysis and Goals Articulation
Concept Development
Zoning and Phasing
Planting Plan
Landscape Amenity Details
Project Management and Construction
Urban Edible Ecosystem
This small urban backyard in North York, Toronto was transformed into a lush temperate jungle of edible plants. The client approached us with a vision of turning her backyard into a productive space that she could enjoy with her young family. She is now surrounded by over 100 edible shrubs, trees and vines and has since opened a dessert catering company which will soon be able to serve delicious treats made from the fruit grown right in her backyard.
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Design Intentions
Create an entirely edible urban ecosystem
Create opportunities for youth to experience and learn about plants
Create opportunities to propagate additional plants in the future
Create a beautiful space for leisure and relaxation
Features
Herb Spiral
Dwarf Food Forest Ecosystem
Annual Vegetable Garden
Clover pathways
Stone Seat Benches with overhead Pergolas for vines
Permeable Patio (maximum water infiltration)
Rainwater collected and filtered through garden or store
FRF Design Role
Site Analysis and Goals Articulation
Concept Development
Planting Plan
Landscape Amenity Details
Project Management and Construction