Gutom? Punta ka na lang sa park. Nilalayon ng bagong food forest ng Seattle na maging isang nakakain na kagubatan. (Larawan: Buena Vista Images/Getty Images)
Ang pananaw ng Seattle sa isang urban food oasis ay nagpapatuloy. Ang isang pitong ektaryang lupain sa kapitbahayan ng Beacon Hill ng lungsod ay tatamnan ng daan-daang iba't ibang uri ng mga nakakain: mga puno ng walnut at kastanyas; blueberry at raspberry bushes; mga puno ng prutas , kabilang ang mga mansanas at peras; exotics tulad ng pinya, yuzu citrus, bayabas, persimmons, honeyberries, at lingonberries; damo; at higit pa. Ang lahat ay magagamit para sa pampublikong plucking sa sinumang gumagala sa unang kagubatan ng pagkain ng lungsod.
"Ito ay ganap na makabago, at hindi pa nagagawa bago sa isang pampublikong parke," Margarett Harrison, nangunguna sa landscape architect para sa proyekto ng Beacon Food Forest, sa TakePart . Si Harrison ay nagtatrabaho sa construction at permit drawings ngayon at inaasahan na masira ang lupa ngayong tag-init.
Ang konsepto ng isang food forest ay tiyak na itinutulak ang sobre sa urban agriculture at nakabatay sa konsepto ng permaculture , na nangangahulugang ito ay magiging pangmatagalan at self-sustaining, tulad ng isang kagubatan ay nasa ligaw. Hindi lamang ang kagubatan na ito ang unang malakihang permaculture na proyekto ng Seattle, ngunit pinaniniwalaan din na ito ang una sa uri nito sa bansa.
"Ang konsepto ay nangangahulugan na isinasaalang-alang namin ang mga lupa, kasamang halaman, insekto, bug-lahat ay magiging kapaki-pakinabang sa isa't isa," sabi ni Harrison.
Na ang plano ay pinagsama-sama sa lahat ay kapansin-pansin sa sarili nitong. Ang nagsimula bilang isang proyekto ng grupo para sa isang kursong disenyo ng permaculture ay naging isang halimbawa ng textbook ng pag-abot sa komunidad na nawala nang tama.
" Ang Friends of the Food Forest ay nagsagawa ng heroic outreach efforts para makakuha ng suporta sa kapitbahayan. Nagpadala ang team ng higit sa 6,000 postcard sa limang magkakaibang wika, inihain sa mga event at fairs, at nag-post ng mga flier," sulat ni Robert Mellinger para sa Crosscut .
Ang input ng kapitbahayan ay labis na pinahahalagahan ng mga organizer, gumamit pa sila ng mga tagasalin upang tulungan ang mga residenteng Tsino na magkaroon ng boses sa pagpaplano.
Kaya lang sino ang makakakuha ng lahat ng mababang-hanging prutas pagdating ng panahon?
"Kahit sino at lahat," sabi ni Harrison. "Nagkaroon ng malaking talakayan tungkol dito. Nag-aalala ang mga tao, 'Paano kung may dumating at kumuha ng lahat ng blueberries?' Maaaring mangyari iyon, ngunit maaaring may nangangailangan ng mga blueberry na iyon sa ganitong paraan—kung wala tayo sa pagtatapos ng panahon ng blueberry, nangangahulugan ito na matagumpay tayo.
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How many acres? How many people?
If one or a few people pick all of the blueberries one season, or someone else sells some apples they picked, why not plant more acres and more acres and more acres?
Until people bought and barricaded all the land every forest was a food forest...and if you know a forest you can get into, it is still a food forest. Pine, cedar, willow, nuts, and all sorts of forest plants are deliciously edible and sustained humankind for thousands of years. Seattle has a nice urban idea but certainly NOT America's first food forest. Creator gave us that! We have in New England all kinds of orchards with berries, pears, apples, peaches, nuts, honey bees, etc, (not many exotics); a kind of fruit forest - though not usually free. Perhaps it should be called America's first Free Fruit Forest.
This is a fascinating trend. I applaud the visionaries behind this movement. Harold, Lead Pastor @ Life Center, Pasadena, CA
I suspect that is a real possibility Rosemary, but by far better to build this and know that the right people will enjoy. I would love to see this manifest everywhere, no one would need to then try to sell because FREE is available. What a wonderful world this will be!
I read somewhere... can't remember which state... doesn't allow the planting of fruit trees on public property ( schools etc ) because (they say ) it will bring pests. I don't like it when people act stupid.... fruit trees feed people. Rock on permiculture!
This is fascinating and I applaud the people of Seattle, who are once again leading the way :) I do, however, have a question, and this comes from the potential conflicts between 'scarcity' and 'abundance' models. How have they tackled the question of what to do if someone, for example, thinks they can take advantage of this 'abundance' by picking lots of apples and then selling them at a market? I am working with a colleague on an issue of a journal that will focus on 'open source thinking' and this question - is there a dark side to the concept - is one we have been reflecting on, along with thinking about its advantages. In other words, how does one sustain 'orderly' use of the fruit forest without imposing 'control'? Is there an equivalent to the creative commons approach that could apply to such abundance-oriented models and activities?
I think the world was like this.........but we have made it as it is now....it is great that we are trying to swing it back to it glories past...well done good job....all nations, institutions etc can replicate this to their own capacity....