BERLIN – An edible forest is the latest sustainable initiative coming to Berlin.

Through a partnership with Assateague Coastal Trust, eighth-grade students from Stephen Decatur Middle School will spend the next several years designing and planting an edible forest garden in Stephen Decatur Park. The effort will not only provide students with a community service opportunity but will also provide a valuable lesson.

“An edible forest garden perfectly aligns forest ecology and food production into one project,” said Dorothy Baker, an Assateague Coastal Trust (ACT) volunteer.

The environmental group, which has worked with Stephen Decatur Middle School students on service learning projects in the past, this year decided to help coordinate a multi-year effort focused on agriculture and food production.

With the help of ACT, students will design and plant an edible forest garden between the parking lot and the no-mow area near the pond at Stephen Decatur Park. The garden, like a forest, will feature seven layers, ranging from a canopy to root crops. Tall trees, such as apple, pear, and chestnuts, will make up the canopy of the forest garden. The space will also include smaller trees (such as apricot and peach), shrubs (blueberries), a root layer (garlic, onions, carrots) and a vine layer (grapes) among others.

Students who will be helping to start the garden told the Berlin Town Council this week how well the project tied into the town’s sustainability initiatives, as it created an ecosystem, educated the community and even encouraged walking. They said they planned to prepare the site in November and would begin planting in May.

Baker said the students would also create informational signs to educate the public on the garden and its plants. The garden’s produce, she added, would be available to the public.

“Please just take what you’re going to eat,” she said.

Matt Heim of ACT said community volunteers would maintain the garden once it was established.

“They’re going to oversee the maintenance and stewardship and serve as interpreters for educational programs at the garden,” he said.

Baker said that because the garden was a large project, students would be planting just 20 percent of it this year. It will gradually be completed during the next four to five years.

Berlin Mayor Gee Williams told the students the town was happy to help promote the project through its social media sites. He advised them to put together a budget if they planned to ask for any financial support.

“We look forward to working with you,” he said.

The council voted 3-0 to give the students permission to plant the garden in the town’s park but only after Councilman Dean Burrell reminded the students that the garden was their responsibility.

“It’s going to take a long-term commitment,” he said. “I want to make it crystal clear this is not a town staff project. This is your project.”