The purpose of the Hartford Food Forest is to respond to increasing food insecurity while reducing the amount of lawn maintained by the Hartford Parks & Recreation Department (HPRD). Resilient Hartford (RH) is a volunteer town commission formed in 2015. Since 2021, RH has worked with the HPRD to transform part of Clifford Park which sustained intense flooding and silt deposits from the 2011 Tropical Storm Irene into a community food forest and Abenaki Garden. The Clifford Park Food Forest and Abenaki Garden (CPFF&AG) is a pilot project we hope will expand to other Hartford parks & Upper Valley towns.Since 2021, RH formed leadership teams for infrastructure, growing, watering and outreach.  Volunteers participate in plantings and workdays; averaging 15 people per event. To date, over 40 fruit, nut and native mast trees have been planted with perennial plant guilds and 'islands' of cover crops to help improve soil conditions. We secured a water tank and gutter system donated by a local contractor to collect rainwater. Currently, volunteers manage the exhausting watering process with buckets and a wagon.The NEGEF grant will be used to purchase a water pump and accessories to move water through to the planting sites. Our goal is to sustain the health and well-being of our emerging food forest and increase the efficiency of our systems while creating a work environment that is educational, uplifting, and conducive to attracting and retaining volunteers.