~ Ryo's Food Forest Park has opened at 89 Radcliffe Street in Dorchester, creating an 11,000-square-foot green space where residents can grow food, gather and connect with nature.

The Boston Food Forest Coalition developed the park with support from the Mayor's Office of Housing's Grassroots Open Space Program. The project also received funding through the Community Preservation Act, a private foundation and the coalition.

The park is named for Ryo Kawashima Coleman, a mother and gardener whose generosity helped inspire the project. The coalition said Coleman was known for sharing plants with neighbors along Radcliffe Street. After four years of neighborhood advocacy and a community-led design process, residents voted to name the park in her honor.

Features include fruit trees, edible shrubs, perennial plants, raised garden beds, walking paths and seating. Solar lighting, irrigation and a maintenance shed are intended to support its ongoing use. A pathway connects Norwell and Radcliffe streets, and gathering areas can host community events and educational activities.

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The project was developed in partnership with the Greater Four Corners Action Coalition and the Harvard-Washington-Norwell Neighborhood Association. A neighborhood stewardship committee will help manage and maintain the park with support from coalition staff. Residents are expected to take part in seasonal workdays and activities such as planting and harvesting.

"This project creates meaningful opportunities for residents to grow fresh, healthy food, learn about urban agriculture, and strengthen connections with their neighbors," said Sheila A. Dillon, the city's chief of housing.

Boston Food Forest Coalition Executive Director Orion Kriegman said the park is intended to support relationships and knowledge-sharing as well as food production. The nonprofit develops and maintains food forests across Boston, using fruit trees, shrubs and other perennial plants to produce food and support the environment.

The city's Grassroots Open Space Program supports community-led efforts to turn underused land into gardens, urban farms and neighborhood green spaces.

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