Gathering Baltimore’s bounty: Characterizing behaviors, motivations, and barriers of foragers in an urban ecosystem

Synk, Colleen M.; Kim, Brent F.; Davis, Charles A.; Harding, James R.; Rogers, Virginia M.; Hurley, Patrick T.; Emery, Marla R.; Nachman, Keeve E.

doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2017.10.007

Cited by 47 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In more recent years, a young, but growing body of research has added considerably to the few pre-existing studies, e.g., [15][16][17]. Cumulatively, the results confirm that urban foraging is an "everyday" (i.e., regular or normal) and surprisingly common practice, both in the Global North [11,18,19] and South [20][21][22]: For example, in a robust household survey study, Robbins et al [23] found that almost 18% of randomly selected residents in four New England states (USA) foraged regularly; more than half of gatherers lived in cities, among them both poorer and wealthier populations. In the city of Kampala (Uganda), 47% of respondents gathered urban wild plants, many of them relying on them as part of their livelihoods and traditions [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…While urban foraging is generally addressed as an important, but underestimated human-nature interaction in cities [10], most studies on urban foraging are from the U.S., e.g., [11,19], with some exceptions from large cities in other parts of the world, e.g., [21,22,24]. Gathering wild plants also matters in European cities [18,36].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the harvest of fruits, nuts and berries-products that play prominently in other studies [19,24]-were mentioned less. Together, they comprised only 24% of all foraged parts, while leaves, blossoms and aboveground parts made up 64%.…”

Section: What? Collected Taxamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This approach allowed for each mentioned plant or fungus to be narrowed down to the species or genera level. Following Synk et al [19], the total taxa count included all distinct species and genera.…”

Section: Taxa Recording Identification and Compilationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, while it seems to be a ubiquitous practice in cities around the world [10], to date, much of the research, especially in the context of the industrialized world, is concentrated in the USA, e.g., [11,12,19]. In Europe, despite a wealth of ethnobotanical studies in rural areas and small towns, e.g., [29][30][31], research from urban areas, where about 70% of the population lives [32], is sparse.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Urban Foraging in Berlin: People, Plants and Practices within the Metropolitan Green Infrastructure

2018

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Gathering wild plants in cities (urban foraging) is likely an important, but understudied human-nature interaction globally. As large European cities are critically understudied in this regard, we performed in-depth ethnography-based interviews in Berlin, Germany, to shed light on the cultural background of foragers, their motivations and which plants and fungi are gathered for which purposes. Results demonstrate multiple uses of 125 taxa, mostly frequently-occurring species but also some Red List species, from a range of formal and informal greenspace types. Both native and non-native species were gathered, with significant differences in use patterns. Use for food was most common, followed by medicinal uses, and personal enjoyment was a frequent motivation, indicating that urban foraging combines provisioning and cultural ecosystem services. Familial and childhood foraging exposure were common, pointing to influences of early-in-life exposure on later-in-life activities and transgenerational aspects of the practice. Results further suggest legacy effects from the post-war and communist eras on foraging knowledge. Although non-commercial foraging is allowed in Berlin, over-harvesting was not evident. Interviews indicate that stewardship of urban biodiversity is common among foragers. Results thus suggest considering urban foraging as a promising vehicle for linking humans with nature when developing a biodiverse urban green infrastructure.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: What? Collected Taxamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Taxa Recording Identification and Compilationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Urban Foraging in Berlin: People, Plants and Practices within the Metropolitan Green Infrastructure

2018

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Urban Food Forests and Community Agroforestry Systems

Munsell¹,

Bukowski²,

Yáñez³

et al. 2021

North American Agroforestry

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Heavy metal contamination (Cu, Pb, and Cd) of washed and unwashed roadside blackberries (Rubus fruticose L.)

Chamberlain,

Scott,

Beddoe

et al. 2024

Integr Envir Assess & Manag

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Foraging provides a multitude of individual, social, and environmental benefits. With green spaces decreasing in the United Kingdom, there is an opportunity for roadside verges to become valuable foraging resources; however, there is public concern over the safety of roadside forage. Human ingestion of heavy metal contaminants, such as copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd), originating from traffic activity, induces toxic effects in the body. Therefore, maximum Cu, Pb, and Cd guideline limits for human consumption in small fruits were established. However, studies of heavy metal concentrations in roadside forage and the effects of surface washing on concentrations are limited. This study examined Cu, Pb, and Cd in washed and unwashed wild blackberries (Rubus fruticose L.) along a main road in Kent, UK, and compares the values with maximum guideline limits. In all 44 samples, Cu, Pb and Cd concentrations were well below the maximum guideline limit or daily reference intake (RI) value. Cu and Pb concentrations were below the maximum daily intake in every sample if foragers eat one portion (80 g) of berries a day, but consuming a larger quantity of berries per day (e.g., 1 kg) could lead to an intake above the guideline limit for Cu (1 mg) and Pb (0.1 mg), but not Cd (0.03 mg). Washing did not significantly reduce the concentrations of Cu (p = 0.174) or Cd (p = 0.752) in blackberries, but did significantly reduce the Pb concentration (p < 0.001). However, Pb concentration was below maximum guideline limits for every sample regardless of washing treatment. Thus, wild blackberries collected from the roadside were suitable for human consumption, although the findings are not representative of all foraged berries or road networks. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;00:1–9. © 2024 The Author(s). Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

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Gathering Baltimore’s bounty: Characterizing behaviors, motivations, and barriers of foragers in an urban ecosystem

Cited by 47 publications

References 23 publications

Urban Foraging in Berlin: People, Plants and Practices within the Metropolitan Green Infrastructure

Urban Foraging in Berlin: People, Plants and Practices within the Metropolitan Green Infrastructure

Urban Food Forests and Community Agroforestry Systems

Heavy metal contamination (Cu, Pb, and Cd) of washed and unwashed roadside blackberries (Rubus fruticose L.)

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