Edible Forests
- Alexandre Cadosch
- Jun 9, 2020
- 2 min read
From mushrooms to apples to garlic, the idea of eating what you can find in nature shouldn't really be so strange. The supermarket shelves are convenient, but humankind has foraged for far longer than we've been visiting the local shop. However, recently the idea of edible forests has begun to develop. This is the concept of designating land to include a range of plants, shrubs, and trees which all provide edible produce.
To suggest that this is a suitable replacement for the mass consumer supermarkets would be a long stretch, but that misses the point. This is an opportunity for learning, interaction, and heritage.
These edible forest can act as a destination. A Willy Wonka style forest garden where everything is edible is such an inspiring curiosity, but one which can connect with people's inherent understanding of produce and where food comes from. To see how an apple tree can grow alongside grape vines, or how pears ripen after wild strawberries, is to gain an understanding of the natural world, and interact with it.
But perhaps, most importantly, these edible forests can act as a location of food heritage. An opportunity where native food plants exist within their natural habitats. We've lost touch with our locally available produce. The apple varieties in shops, are but a fraction of the traditionally harvested varieties. These heirloom varieties have so often been lost, but this is an opportunity to preserve them for the future.
Finally, not only is this a chance to understand the natural world, but also our ancestors who knew of all the ancient varieties, and had an intuitive sense of what is edible. This is information which our communities have lost, but through edible forests perhaps now we have a chance to reengage with both our past and the natural world around us.
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