Volunteers are helping to restore the Festival Beach Food Forest, an Austin garden that's open to anyone who wants to forage, starting with a 12-day campaign that's already underway. The campaign includes a fundraising push and a free, public event to celebrate on August 20.
The team that maintains the food forest calls it a "grassroots pilot project." It is volunteer-run and experimental, with the main goal of turning public parkland into a community space that can "nourish, educate and inspire." The garden is located along Lady Bird Lake and offers fruits, nuts, vegetables, and herbs.
Volunteers, who call themselves ATX19, hope to hit a fundraising goal of $100,000. The national community food-growing nonprofit Big Green will match donations up to a $25,000 cap. Funds raised will go toward educational programming and developing the second phase of the food forest, which will expand the forest from two-thirds of an acre to three-and-a-half acres. Some proceeds will also go to Big Green for use on other community gardening projects nationwide.
“This isn’t just about planting trees,” said ATX volunteer team captain Neil Dumra in a press release. Dumra also owns ThirdEye Cacao, a local artisanal cacao company. “It’s about proving what can happen when ordinary people decide not to wait for someone else to solve a problem. A food forest isn’t built for the people planting it. It’s built for the families, kids, and neighbors who’ll enjoy it decades from now.”
In addition to fundraising, the ATX19 team will be putting in work over hundreds of volunteer hours at Festival Beach. Their goals, according to a press release, are to expand native prairie habitat for birds and pollinators, develop new areas for growing edible plants, revitalize the community seed library, and paint benches for visitors.
The campaign will also provide unrestricted funding to support future educational programming and the Phase 2 development of the Food Forest, ensuring the space continues to serve Austin residents for years to come.
The food forest took a hit in January and February of 2026 when construction for the I-35 Capital Express Central project moved onto cultivated land. Volunteers for the forest coordinated on a large "unplanting" project, where they removed 90 trees to be replanted after construction was completed. Since then, the forest has been back to its usual programming and projects, including work days, guided walks, clothing swaps, and more.
To attend the free celebration on August 20, guests need to RSVP on Eventbrite by August 17. There will be live music by local artists, take-home sprout kids, and other ways to connect with community members who care about community gardening.
Donations to the Festival Beach Food Forest for this campaign can be made through Big Green at give.biggreen.org.
