Festival Beach Food Forest is an acre of land in a public park in Southeast Austin. For the past 10 years, the land has been cared for by volunteers and has been transformed from a barren plot of grass into a vibrant, lush community designed around permaculture practices. The space's unique and environmentally conscious design has resulted in several microclimates; where climate is measured in miles, microclimate is done so in meters. The Food Forest is a safe and welcoming space for the community that cares for it but also physically offers relief and protects its inhabitants from the heat.

In 3 months, our team designed and led a citizen microclimate experiment, inviting members of the community to aid in collecting data to further the Food Forest’s research on permaculture’s effects on microclimate and to physically experience the change that is felt when entering the space. Numbers and charts don’t provide much clarity on lived experiences - it is not until participants experience it for themselves that they understand the effects of heat on the body and the Food Forest’s role as a balm in the extreme climate.

The Microclimate Citizen Science Experience was held on June 8 and October 19, 2024. It will continue to take place in the near future.