Nimone Hardisty: Forestr

Nimone Li‑Hardisty is the visionary founder and Chief Executive Officer of Forestr.org, a Castro Valley–based nonprofit dedicated to urban greening, food justice, and community resilience. With nearly three decades of experience in architecture, general contracting, and LEED-certified construction projects—including major developments like the Asian Art Museum and Oceanwide Center in San Francisco—she brings a unique intersection of technical expertise and environmental passion to her leadership role.

Since launching Forestr.org in 2019, Nimone has spearheaded initiatives that blend pragmatic construction know-how with ecological innovation. Her initiatives focus on expanding urban pocket parks, gleaning backyard fruit for local food banks, creating mini-parks, and launching permaculture education programs under ForestrU.

Forestr.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Castro Valley, California, dedicated to empowering local communities to clean, green, and glean their surroundings.

• Mission: Build hyper-local programs for cleaning public spaces, cultivating green spaces, and harvesting surplus food to bolster food justice.
• Core Programs: Litter Cleanup & Restoration: Teams conduct Adopt‑a‑Highway-style cleanups, fire abatement, and ecological restoration—mulching, inoculating soil, and training youth in green jobs. Forests of the Future: Plant sustainable food forests and manage seedlings, pocket parks, and soil regeneration efforts. Community Gleaning & Food Redistribution: Rescue surplus fruit and produce from backyards and farms, with the Castro Valley Gleans program delivering to local food banks and shelters; in 2025, they gleaned nearly 20,000 pounds in Castro Valley alone.
• Impact: Since 2018, Forestr has recovered approximately 78,000 pounds of produce, prevented millions of gallons of water waste, offset over 9 tons of CO₂ equivalents, and collected thousands of bags of litter.

In essence, Forestr.org cultivates community resilience and environmental stewardship by transforming neighborhoods into cleaner, greener, and more food-secure spaces.