Background
[Swale] is a floating food forest launched in Summer 2016 in New York. The project is spearheaded by Mary Mattingly, the visionary behind the Waterpod, Flock, and WetLand. The project also includes many of the same designers as well as new team members, designer, and contributors.
Mission
What if healthy, fresh food could be a free public service, and not just an expensive commodity? That’s the question we really want to ask with Swale. Swale, a collaborative floating food project, is dedicated to rethinking and challenging New York City's connection to our environment. Built on a 110-foot by 30-foot floating platform, Swale contains an edible forest garden. Functioning as both a sculpture and a tool, Swale provides free healthy food at the intersection of public art and service. With Swale, we want to reinforce water as a commons, and work towards fresh food as a commons too.