Consuming the city: challenges and possibilities for foraging in Toronto’s parks

Shortly, Anna; Kepe, Thembela

doi:10.1080/14728028.2020.1863865

Cited by 12 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Moreover, during previous research investigations, we could find in diverse Middle Eastern and Caucasian contexts that a strong impact of a dominant language or even religious affiliation affects not only the language/religion of minorities as practiced by the youngest generations, but also their folk plant nomenclature and taxonomy, thus in turn affecting the ability to recognise and use certain plants, and ultimately both the local ecology and attached cultural practices (see for example Pieroni et al, 2018 , 2020 , 2021 ). On the other hand, beyond our considered case studies, which all concern rural traditional foraging practices, new foraging trends are clearly emerging in urban environments, sometimes enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic and the literature on these phenomena has exponentially increased in the past two years (Łuczaj et al, 2012 , 2021 ; Hare & Peña del Valle Isla, 2021 ; Sardeshpande et al, 2021 ; Shortly & Kepe, 2021 ; Somesh et al, 2021 ); it could be therefore worth to carefully compare in the future these practices with more “traditional” rural foraging practices or their hybridised forms, also for what concerning the holistic sustainability. A few preliminary exploratory studies that our groups conducted in various European locations suggest that the "new foragers" act in a much more utilitarian manner and have a much less contextual knowledge of the environment than their "rural grandparents", possibly since a continuos, daily exposure to nature is often missing.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The nexus between traditional foraging and its sustainability: a qualitative assessment among a few selected Eurasian case studies

Aziz

Mattalia

Sulaiman

et al. 2022

Environ Dev Sustain

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Plant foraging is an important human ecological phenomenon being studied by a number of contemporary ethnobiologists as well as by a few social anthropologists among rural communities and, more recently, in urban environments. The sustainability dimension of foraging is, however, largely unexplored. We analyse a few case studies from recent field research and qualitatively assess both the environmental and social sustainability of diverse patterns of traditional foraging practices in three distinct human ecological environments (horticulturalism-, forestry-, and pastoralism-driven) located in the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, and North Pakistan, i.e. we address the question of when does traditional foraging become unsustainable and what factors may influence this. The main findings are multidimensional. First, in all case studies, we sometimes observed competitive foraging among the gatherers of certain wild food plants potentially causing ecological degradation; such unsustainable practices seem to be linked to the market pressure on certain species. However, also customs and norms promoted by states can be detrimental (former Soviet Union), as well as climate change (Eastern Europe), and marginalisation of some minority groups (Pakistan). Second, in the Mediterranean Syrian context, wild food plant resources are largely represented by widely available weedy “wild” vegetables, normally (but not exclusively) collected by women, and usually easily accessible; only very few wild food plants seem to be threatened due to specific market demands or to disequilibria created by household economic instabilities due to the recent war. We also argue that unsustainable foraging is enhanced by the abandonment of daily practices and continuous interaction with the natural environment and by the increasingly uneven distribution of active practical knowledge on wild food plants among the middle-aged and younger population. Facilitating the transmission of sustainable foraging knowledge and practices could be therefore crucial, also for coping with food insecurity in times of crisis; but for that to occur, holistic environmental and food educational frameworks, appropriate policies for fostering community-based biodiversity conservation and also social cohesion and communal management of lands should be seriously considered as well. Moreover, future gastronomic and eco-tourism initiatives, if organised in a thoughtful manner, could represent a positive turning point not only for the local small-scale economies of the considered rural communities but also for helping them to dynamically preserve the entire socio-ecological system underpinned in plant foraging and ultimately to better adapt to the current global crisis.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The nexus between traditional foraging and its sustainability: a qualitative assessment among a few selected Eurasian case studies

Aziz

Mattalia

Sulaiman

et al. 2022

Environ Dev Sustain

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“…While there are certainly places where this is necessary, such as in a botanic garden, in many park and forest areas, a broader use ethic can allow for intimate, multisensory experiences that strengthen people's connections to nature [233,313]. The recent growth of research in urban foraging provides a good example of how the sustainable harvesting of common plants can be a powerful way to build nature connections and place-protective behaviors without harming the biodiversity [234,[314][315][316]. Simple nature restoration activities such as collecting and broadcasting wildflower seeds can be another way to engage individuals in pleasant sensory experiences that nurture both people and the environment [232,242,317,318].…”

Section: Usable Naturementioning

confidence: 99%

Key Characteristics of Forest Therapy Trails: A Guided, Integrative Approach

Gobster

Kruger

Schultz³

et al. 2023

Forests

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Forest therapy is an emerging holistic health practice that uses multisensory immersive engagements in forest settings to achieve health and wellbeing outcomes. Many forest therapy engagements take place via slow walks along a trail to optimally experience the array of sensory phenomena afforded along the route, yet surprisingly few forest therapy studies to date have investigated the characteristics of forest sites and trails that give rise to healthful experiences. In this research, we employ a hybrid approach to understand the conditions and features that contribute to a good forest therapy trail, using interviews with forest therapy guides to identify and highlight concepts for further refinement and structuring via a broad, integrative review of the relevant research and planning literature. Through this iterative approach, we identify and describe three site-related criteria (landscape character and quality, tranquility, and accessibility) and two trail-related criteria (design and construction and key features and qualities), each with a number of sub-criteria detailing specific conditions and considerations. This effort helps build a conceptual foundation and evidence base for assessment procedures that can be used to identify existing trails and design new ones that meet the needs of forest planners, managers, guides, and participants for the growing international practice of forest therapy.

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“…In U.S. and European metropoles, books, and classes are offered on identifying and cooking with wild plants [9,39], which aim to increase the popularity of food foraging [39] and foster connections between home-based and outdoor activities. Further studies emphasize the importance of complementary home-based/foraging activities to mitigate food insecurity and as a means to share knowledge and skills relevant to culture, ethnicity, or religion [38]. As both types of activities impact foragers' attitudes and perceptions of the impact of their actions, the following muti-part hypothesis is proposed: Hypothesis 2 (H2).…”

Section: Importance Of Tending/harvesting Nature and Food At Homementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, food foragers should be knowledgeable of plant species and responsible selection practices [37,38]. Various studies emphasize the importance of carefully selecting species and locations [14,39].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Key Factors Driving Urban Foraging Behavior in Garden and Non-Garden Locations

Rombach

Dean

2023

Foods

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Since the occurrence of COVID-19 and food price inflation, alternative forms of food procurement increased in popularity. The present study is dedicated to urban foraging and aims to explore key factors driving food foraging behavior in the U.S. Two specific foraging behaviors, namely “leaving food behind” or “taking it all”, have been investigated in a gardening and non-gardening location. Leaving food behind is crucial to sustainable foraging practices, as it allows plants and ecosystems to recover and promotes fairness in foraging communities. Data was procured from an online consumer survey and analyzed using SmartPLS 4, which allowed the use of partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). PLS-SEM is particularly suitable for complex exploratory studies as it does not require distributional assumptions. Results indicate that nature and food attitudes predict attitudes toward urban foraging. Foraging attitudes, such as food foraging is challenging and food foraging benefits people and the planet, which are the most important drivers for taking or leaving behaviors in both types of locations. These findings are of relevance to managers in municipalities, landscape designers, horticultural businesses, and other stakeholders who create, shape, and govern landscapes used for food foraging.

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Consuming the city: challenges and possibilities for foraging in Toronto’s parks

Cited by 12 publications

References 29 publications

The nexus between traditional foraging and its sustainability: a qualitative assessment among a few selected Eurasian case studies

The nexus between traditional foraging and its sustainability: a qualitative assessment among a few selected Eurasian case studies

Key Characteristics of Forest Therapy Trails: A Guided, Integrative Approach

Exploring Key Factors Driving Urban Foraging Behavior in Garden and Non-Garden Locations

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