Spaces
Are there places where you could allow for-
aging without damage to valued trees and
landscapes? Creating places such as food forests
is a growing strategy for delivering the ben-
efits of foraging. But many other locations in
urban forests and greenspaces may be suit-
able, including more natural woodland areas.
Species
Are there fruits, nuts, etc. that can be harvested
without causing damage? Are there species that for-
aging could help you control? Fallen fruit and nuts
often are abundant and may even be a nuisance
you wouldn't mind having removed (think ginkgo
nuts!) As mentioned, many foraged plants are inva-
sive. Provided care is taken not to spread them,
foraging may help control an unwanted species.
Times
Are there times when foraging in a place might
do harm and other times when it might not? At
some times of year, you may want to protect
nesting sites from disturbance or saturated slopes
from footfalls. Once young are fledged and soils
dry, these sites may no longer be sensitive.
Techniques
Are there foraging tools and techniques that do no
harm? The effects of harvesting on a tree or shrub
can vary widely according to how it is done. Guidance
can help steer new foragers toward approaches
that will let them enjoy the activity year after year.
The scope for making trees and forests acces-
sible as sources of food, medicine, and other
materials is wide. Arborists, urban foresters, and
foragers can be allies in caring for the urban forest
and broadening the benefits it provides.
Citations
Bukowski, C., and Munsell, J. 2018. The
Community Food Forest Handbook: How to
Plan, Organize, and Nurture Edible Gathering
Places. Chelsea Green Publishing.
"How Black Foragers Find Freedom in
the Natural World," New York Times,
July 30, 2021. Accessed 9/16/21.
Hurley, P. T., and Emery, M. R. 2018. Locating pro-
visioning ecosystem services in urban forests:
Forageable woody species in New York City, USA.
Landscape and Urban Planning, 170, 266-275.
Hurley, P. T., Emery, M. R., McLain, R., Poe, M.,
Grabbatin, B., and Goetcheus, C. L. 2015. Whose
urban forest? The political ecology of foraging
urban nontimber forest products. Sustainability in
the Global City: Myth and Practice; Isenhour, C.,
McDonogh, G., and Checker, M., Eds., 187-212.
Johnson Gaither, C., Aragón, A., Madden,
M., Alford, S., Wynn, A., Emery, M. 2020.
"Black Folks Do Forage": Examining Wild Food
Gathering in Southeast Atlanta Communities."
Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 56.
Linnekin, Baylen J. Food Law Gone Wild: The Law
of Foraging. 45 Fordham Urb. L.J. 995 (2018).
McLain, R. J., P. T. Hurley, M. R. Emery, and M. R. Poe.
2014. Gathering "wild" food in the city: rethinking
the role of foraging in urban ecosystem planning and
management. Local Environment, 19 (2):220-240.
McLain, R. J., M.R. Poe, L S. Urgenson, D. J. Blahna,
and L. P. Buttolph. 2017. Urban non-timber forest
products stewardship in Seattle, Washington (USA).
Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 28:36-42.
Synk, C.M., B.F. Kim, C.A. Davis, J. Harding,
V. Rogers, P.T. Hurley, M.R. Emery, and K. E.
Nachman. 2017. Gathering Baltimore's Bounty:
Characterizing Behaviors, Motivations, and
Barriers of Foragers in an Urban Ecosystem.
Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 28:97-102.
18 CityTREES
