New York City residents will soon see a new vessel traveling along the Hudson River. Instead of the typical sightseeing boat populated by tourists snapping shots of the Statue of Liberty, this watercraft will be filled with a growing garden of edible plants.

That garden is Swale, a food forest that sits atop a 120-by-35-foot barge. All of the food grown on Swale will be free and available to anyone who wants to hop on board. Patrons will be able to forage for dozens of perennial plants, such as persimmons, Swiss chard, strawberries, and asparagus.

"We are working toward more edible public places in the city, with the bigger goal of revaluing healthy food as not only an expensive commodity but also a basic human right," Mary Mattingly, the founder of Swale, wrote in an email to TakePart.

Communities have developed land-based food forests across the country—from Seattle to Philadelphia to Hawaii. But growing food for consumption on public land is prohibited in New York City, which is part of the reason why Swale is a water project.

Mattingly collaborated with several artists to create the floating sustainable environment, from designing microclimates in the forest to protect shade-loving plants from the elements to selecting low-maintenance perennials that will grow stronger each year.