Gathering plants and fungi along the urban-rural gradient: Uncovering differences in the attitudes and practices among urban, suburban, and rural landowners

Abstract

a b s t r a c tGathering non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in cities and rural areas has received growing attention in research and news media. Yet little is known about the frequency of these activities and how attitudes about and the practice of gathering differ across urban, suburban, and rural areas. We report on findings from a mail survey of landowners across two urban-rural gradients in central and eastern Massachusetts, USA. The survey queried (a) attitudes towards gathering and a variety of other environmental benefits, (b) the practice of gathering, and (c) where gatherers harvest species. Survey responses reveal that gathering is not a controversial use of land and is a relatively widespread activity across urban, suburban, and rural areas. Further, the results show that gathering occurs on a mix of private and public lands and that there are important differences in the practice of gathering among individuals living in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Our findings have implications for understanding the social and ecological dynamics of gathering and suggest that more research on gathering and other natural resource management issues is needed, particularly in (sub)urban areas.

Urban Foraging: A Ubiquitous Human Practice Overlooked by Urban Planners, Policy, and Research

“…More than 75% of documented foraging in Philadelphia takes place in parks, with several species reportedly harvested only in parks. A survey of landowners in cities and suburbs located in eastern Massachusetts indicated harvests on nearby conservation lands [43]. Research in Stockholm documents mushroom foraging in that city [29], and the harvesting of berries (such as lingonberries and blueberries) is very common, with other fruits, berries, and greens also widely observed, but less common (Dahlberg pers.…”

“…Foraging is not limited to immediate urban areas, or those spaces regularly associated with the interior of cities; it also, and in some places predominantly, takes place in suburban and peri-urban areas [21,29,39,40,43,45,57,58]. Across this urban spectrum, patterns of foraging appear to share many similarities, and foragers living in the city or suburbs are often engaged in foraging in areas both inside and outside the city.…”

Natural Resource Access Rights and Wrongs: Nontimber Forest Products Gathering in Urban Environments

“…In the case of urban NTFP gathering, people's own property and home plots can be an important harvest site (Kaoma and Shackleton 2014;Gianotti and Hurley 2016;Mollee, Pouliot, and McDonald 2017), meaning access is gained by virtue of living on or owning property. However, other harvest sites-both public and private-are also important, especially as plot sizes shrink closer to urban centers or among poorer city dwellers.…”

Déchets, mauvaises herbes et plantes sauvages

“…Elle peut concerner des espèces sauvages ou cultivées, dans des espaces plus ou moins appropriés. Si la cueillette est principalement pratiquée en milieu rural et forestier (Short Gianotti et Hurley, 2016), elle a récemment pris de l'ampleur dans des métropoles comme Seattle, Baltimore, New York, Philadelphie ou Syracuse Plieninger et al, 2015 ;Synk et al, 2017), Stockholm, Berlin ou Edimbourg (von Hoffen et Säumel, 2014) ou encore dans des villes finlandaises ou japonaises (Terada et al, 2010 ;Kangas et Markkanen, 2001). D'autre part, la récupération de déchets alimentaires est la pratique consistant à récupérer les biens mis au rebut sur les trottoirs, dans les rues ou dans les poubelles.…”

“…Celles et ceux qui récupèrent les déchets alimentaires connaissent les horaires de collecte des ordures du quartier, les routines de mise au rebut des commerces alimentaires et sont capables d'évaluer les meilleurs sites de collecte (Barnard 2011). 6 Les données démographiques dont on dispose pour l'instant sur les cueilleur.se.s urbain.e.s révèlent des profils particulièrement diversifiés en termes d'âge, de sexe, de revenu et d'origine ethnique, depuis des personnes de classe moyenne supérieure ayant un mode de vie alternatif jusqu'aux individus sans domicile qui vivent dans l'insécurité alimentaire Poe et al, 2013 ;Shackleton et al, 2017 ;Short Gianotti et Hurley, 2016 ;Synk et al, 2017 ;Vinegar Parker et McCourt, 2016). Les cueilleur.se.s comprennent des résidents autochtones et non-autochtones, ainsi que des migrants nationaux et internationaux (Poe et al, 2013).…”