Forward: Foraging in Public Spaces

  As a holistic herbalist, education and empowerment are cornerstones of my work. Thousands of western New Yorkers have heard me preach about the nutritional and medicinal benefits of abundant wild plants found right here—many of them invasives or non-natives. More people are taking an interest in wild-harvesting the free food around them. 

Naturally, folks are turning to public green spaces for potential foraging. While there are clear guidelines, rules, and training for local game hunters, plant and mushroom foragers are often left guessing where it’s legal to harvest, and whether the land is safe to eat from.

When conventional farmers apply herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers to their fields, there are guidelines about safe application. Though US regulations are lax compared to other developed nations, there is at least an understanding that these crops are intended for human or livestock consumption. Some safety considerations are made. 

Likewise, there are laws in place for landscapers working in residential areas, with the understanding that chemicals applied to lawns may affect neighboring children, adults, and pets. Landscapers are expected to report the chemicals they will be using to their clients prior to application. Erie County, along with several counties east in New York State, enacted a Neighbor Notification Law for certain chemical applications (DEC NY website).

However, in the extensive time I have spent hiking at local parks and forests, I have never noticed a sign indicating a recent chemical application. I trust that our local park, forest, and Department of Environmental Conservation employees are making the best decisions they can to protect the health of our native local species. But I imagine many are not aware that visitors may be eating from areas where chemical applications have been made.

My goals for this project:

· Collect and share information required for safe and legal harvest of invasive, non-native, and abundant native plants and mushrooms in public spaces.

· Generate awareness of wild foraging amongst park and forest staff. Suggest methods of informing the public about chemical application practices (ex. posting signs after chemical application).

· Promote more refined rules about foraging in public spaces. For example, rather than banning all wild-harvesting in state parks, ban the harvest of native plants, while allowing the foraging of invasives and abundant non-natives. 

One might ask, “Why does it matter whether we’re technically allowed to harvest invasive garlic mustard, or Japanese knotweed? No one would mind if we took some.” My concern is that if parks and forests do not consciously allow visitors to harvest these plants for eating, their management practices and communication with visitors will also ignore this reality. If both visitors and employees are clear on what we are allowed to nibble, we will have increased the safety of the nibbling.

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Source:

NY State Department of Environmental Conservation website. May 20, 2019. www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/8529.html