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

Landor-Yamagata, Jonah L.; Kowarik, Ingo; Fischer, Leonie K.

doi:10.3390/su10061873

Cited by 56 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…The ability of mundraub' s technology to build networks between urban residents sharing information and interests on edible nature is acknowledged by local environmental NGOs (Interview H). These statements resonate with the findings of Landor-Yamagata, Kowarik, and Fischer (2018) that urban foraging in Berlin is generating stronger engagement with nature.…”

Section: Individual and Collective Uses Of Urban Naturesupporting

confidence: 85%

Digital urban nature

Moss

Voigt

Becker

2021

City

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Within policy and research debates on the smart city, the urban environment has become an arena of contestation. Claims that digitalisation will render the city more resource-efficient are countered by criticism of the tensions between smart and sustainability practices. Little attention has been paid, however, to the role of nature in digitally mediated urban environments. The flora, fauna and habitats of a city are a void in research and policy on digital urbanism. This paper provides one of the first conceptually grounded, empirical studies of 'digital urban nature' in practice. Taking the empirical example of Berlin, the paper demonstrates how a single city can spawn a rich variety of digital nature schemes, develops from this a typology to guide future research and analyses two schemes in depth to illustrate the aspirations and limitations of digital technologies targeting urban nature. The empirical findings are interpreted by bringing into dialogue pertinent strands of urban research: first, between smart environments and urban nature to explore ways of representing nature through digital technologies and, second, between digital and urban commons to interpret changes in the collective and individual use of urban nature. The paper reveals 2 City XX-X that digital platforms and apps are creating new ways of seeing and experiencing nature in the city, but often cling to conventional, anthropocentric notions of urban nature, with sometimes detrimental effects. More broadly, it suggests that exploring practices of digitalisation beyond the remit of conventional smart city policy can enrich scholarship on digitally mediated human-nature relations in the city.

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Section: Individual and Collective Uses Of Urban Naturesupporting

confidence: 85%

Digital urban nature

Moss

Voigt

Becker

2021

City

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“…For many foragers, childhood exposure is a key aspect in develpoing the practice (LANDOR-YAMAGATA et al, 2018) and for many the importance of foraging is based on traditions developed over several generations (EMERY et al, 2006;SCHULP et al, 2014). Through connections to cultural and family traditions wild food collecting and consumption becomes part of people's identity, defining who an individual is through actions, memories and the development of a sense of collective cultural heritage (HALL, 2013;POE et al, 2013;SCHULP et al, 2014).…”

Section: Foraging: Knowledge and Attachmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“There will be mushrooms again” – Foraging, landscape and forest fire

Butler

Ångman

Sang

et al. 2021

Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism

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In this paper, we address the relevance of recreational foraging, picking berries and mushrooms, for developing connection to nature and what happens when that practice is interrupted by drastic landscape change. We use the site of the largest forest fire in modern Swedish history as a case to examining the relevance of foraging. In previous studies, positive associations have been observed between the activity of picking berries and mushrooms with landscape-identity prior to forest fires. The results suggest that the more participants enjoyed foraging, the stronger their attachment to the landscape as well as memories and reasoning about the landscape. These relationships remainedafter the area has been drastically altered by fire, implying a significant role of foraging for keeping "alive" the positive feelings and memories of the forest landscape. Through questionnaires and semistructured interviews, we examine why individuals forage, what foraging meant for them before the event and how they relate to the landscape and foraging after the fire. Our findings suggest that these connections are built on an interplay between place, practice and intimate knowledge. We conclude that foraging play an essential role in defining and developing connections to landscape which can act as the basis for stewardship of the landscape. Management implications:• In order to facilitate reconnection to the landscape after a forest fire there is a need to understand how individuals and communities related to the landscape before the fire. • Foraging will always be reliant on issues of access, and specific management regimes.• Cultural values and small-scale activities play an essential role in defining and developing connections to landscape. Connections which can ultimately inform a sense of responsibility and stewardship. • Activities such as foraging are reliant on more than just the affordance provided by the physical and visual character of a landscape.

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“…The global membership of foragers on Facebook have commonality in the culture of food plants and share information and knowledge to promote their practices. In Berlin, urban residents commonly use and consume wild plants for food, personal joy, and medicinal uses [35]. The collection of wild onions, also known as ramps or leeks (Allium tricoccum Ait.)…”

Section: Cultural Identities and Nature-related Valuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rediscovering the Contributions of Forests and Trees to Transition Global Food Systems

Chamberlain

Darr

Meinhold

2020

Forests

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The importance of forests to safeguard agricultural production through regulating ecosystem services such as clean water, soil protection, and climate regulation is well documented, yet the contributions of forests and trees to provide food for the nutritional needs of the increasing human population has not been fully realized. Plants, fungi, and animals harvested from forests have long provided multiple benefits—for nutrition, health, income, and cultural purposes. Across the globe, the main element of “forest management” has been industrial wood production. Sourcing food from forests has been not even an afterthought but a subordinate activity that just happens and is largely invisible in official statistics. For many people, forests ensure a secure supply of essential foods and vital nutrients. For others, foraging forests for food offers cultural, recreational, and diversified culinary benefits. Increasingly, these products are perceived by consumers as being more “natural” and healthier than food from agricultural production. Forest-and wild-sourced products increasingly are being used as key ingredients in multiple billion dollar industries due to rising demand for “natural” food production. Consumer trends demonstrate growing interests in forest food gathering that involves biological processes and new forms of culturally embedded interactions with the natural world. Further, intensifying calls to “re-orient” agricultural production provides opportunities to expand the roles of forests in food production; to reset food systems by integrating forests and trees. We use examples of various plants, such as baobab, to explore ways forests and trees provide for food security and nutrition and illustrate elements of a framework to encourage integration of forests and trees. Forests and trees provide innovative opportunities and technological and logistical challenges to expand food systems and transition to a bioeconomy. This shift is essential to meet the expanding demand for secure and nutritious food, while conserving forest biodiversity.

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

Cited by 56 publications

References 53 publications

Digital urban nature

Digital urban nature

“There will be mushrooms again” – Foraging, landscape and forest fire

Rediscovering the Contributions of Forests and Trees to Transition Global Food Systems

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