The Onion Creek Orchard and Community Garden planning initiative is a neighbor-led effort to create a community garden and food forest on city-owned buyout lands in Southeast Austin. Following the devastating 2013 Halloween Flood, hundreds of homes in the Yarrabee Bend, Onion Creek Forest, and Silverstone subdivisions were acquired by the City of Austin and replaced with park and trail amenities. Three blocks in the southwestern part of the area were identified by the City's planning process as "potential community agriculture" spaces. Onion Creek Park Neighborhoods Alliance (OCPNA), a coalition of neighbors, is working with relevant City departments to plant and steward a community orchard on the land closest to Perez Elementary School along Savorey Lane, with the long-term goal of providing fresh, free food and educational opportunities to the community.

You can help make this dream a reality and guide the design of the community orchard by providing your feedback below.

We also encourage you to attend the in-person community gathering on May 10 at Canella and Savorey.

More updates and community meetings will be posted on the OCPNA Facebook.

Above is the proposed concept plan for the park, this survey and portion of the planning process focuses on the sites identified for potential community garden (yellow areas).

Now, we have a chance to shape how our urban agriculture spaces will grow food and community! This garden area could feature rental plots, shared growing spaces, or even a small community farm—depending on how we choose to connect with each other and the land. The main limitation will be floodplain regulations which prevent building fences or permanent structures on the site.

Please take this brief survey to help guide the final design of these spaces and ensure they reflect the impact we want for our community.