Why not food?Community Food Forestry Initiative

Mario Yanez www.earth-learning.org

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the challenge

• unprecedented rate of re/development• established urban trees and forests are

pushed out more buildings

• how can we make urban forests indispensable amenities in the urban landscape?

• did anyone say food forest?

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the context

• have been attending several partners in community forestry conferences– talking up benefits of food forestry

• applied for NUCFAC grant in late 2015

• project funded in summer 2016– 4 awards made nationwide– other 3 were awarded to universities

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agroforestry

• a land use management system • combines agricultural and forestry

technologies • creates diverse, productive, profitable,

healthy, ecologically sound, and regenerative land-use systems

• practiced for millennia throughout world

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forest structure

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food forests

• a complex, diverse mix of edible/useful trees, shrubs, vines, and seasonal crops

• that achieve the ecological dynamics of a forest ecosystem

• less susceptible to harmful insects, plant diseases, drought, and wind damage

• because of their internal ecology

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ecological dynamics

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food? in public spaces?

• messy• attracts critters• dangerous• a liability• high maintenance• confusing• scary

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designed approach

• because its not all or nothing…• with the proper guidance, tools and resources• we can filter the available choices • to the most appropriate…• and design a productive planting for any

context

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community food forestry

• an innovative approach• providing urban foresters a

comprehensive set of tools and resources• that integrate food-producing trees and

plants into the urban landscape• and make them even more valuable!

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true partnerships

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code module

• create municipal code for adoption across country

• document ways to integrate food forests into common types of public/civic spaces

• enable users to easily integrate food-based plantings into almost any situation

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Transect Zones

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planting templates

• a representative set of planting scenarios • for various types of public spaces rendered in

the code module• universal in nature and not specific to any

region or species

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plant index

• organized by climactic region• cross-listed by form, function and other values • allow users to choose appropriate trees and

plants for their context– that fulfills each particular role within the planting

and – is appropriate to the climate and microclimate of

each context

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plant index

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knowledge base

• repository of information (a wiki of sorts) • contain thousands of entries – Edible/Useful Plants (images, audio, video, pdf)

• available to users to access/understand – uses, – culture and characteristics, – significance, – productivity and – other significant traits of each species

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knowledge base

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i-tree integration

• i-tree is a leading vehicle to deliver the science used to estimate urban tree benefits to a wide range of audiences

• integration with frequently used tools – communicate the value of food-producing trees and

plants – i-tree users will gain an even more comprehensive

estimation of the value of edible/useful species– guiding their planning, management, and plant choices

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Forest Assessment Tools• i-Tree Eco provides a broad picture of the entire urban or rural forest• i-Tree Landscape is a new web-based tool that allows users to explore tree canopy,

impervious cover, land cover, and basic demographic information anywhere in the US

• i-Tree Hydro is a newer application designed to simulate the effects of changes in tree and impervious cover characteristics within a watershed on stream flow and water quality…Extend to non-watershed areas

• i-Tree Design is a simple online tool for assessing individual or multiple trees at the parcel level

• i-Tree Canopy offers a quick and easy way to produce a statistically valid estimate of land cover types (e.g., tree cover) using aerial images available in Google Maps

• i-Tree Streets focuses on the benefits provided by a municipality's street trees• i-Tree Vue allows you to make use of the freely available National Land Cover

Database (NLCD) satellite-based imagery to assess your community's land cover, including tree canopy, and some of the ecosystem services provided by your current urban forest

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multi-level indicators

• indicators will measure success at various levels – from the landscape to the individual plant – that measure resistance and resilience– appropriateness of planting

• users will be able to easily evaluate which components of their plantings – will have synergistic effects – create greater value and – Require lower-maintenance interventions

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online portal

• a platform accessible through • an online portal for users to access – the initiative's resources and tools– share their experiences with community food

forestry – within multiple communities of practice, – continually growing the knowledge base in this

fairly new field

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training & technical assistance

• a series of workshops, and professional training, – to be delivered online or – at conferences and gatherings that – ensure user groups across the country make full

use of the proposed resources – so they may effectively leverage these in their

communities

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dissemination

• initial demonstration plantings– new york city – miami

• a very active campaign, grow food everywhere will disseminate the tools & resources far and wide

• will co-author a revised version agrarian urbanism book with new case studies

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Questions?

Thank You!Mario Yanez

mario.m.yanez@gmail.com