\n| [img_assist|nid=203|title=|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=327|height=212]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n The international community celebrated the
\nUnited Nations\u2019 \u201cYear of the Forest\u201d in 2011.
\nThe Vibrant Cities and Urban Forests Task Force,
\nconvened by the US Forest Service, published their \u201cNational Call to Action\u201d\u2014a
\nvision for how urban forests can serve our cities\u2019 needs for health, social
\nservices, landscape design and economics. Now is the time to take this concern
\nabout forests into all aspects of life, including as an egalitarian means to
\nfeed people.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nFood security
\nis threatened by numerous hierarchical systems that undermine sustainability.
\nCapitalism is perhaps the most glaring example\u2014anti-ecological at its core due
\nto massive resource extraction and environmental degradation at the expense of
\nexploited labor and the natural world. Capitalism\u2019s products, just as much as
\nits actions, lead us into a downward spiral of malnutrition from processed,
\nnutrient-deficient foods, sensational marketing and over focus on \u201cshelf-life.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nForest Gardening<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nForest<\/span> gardening offers one strategy toward
\nsustainability. Instead of relying on accepted practices of resource
\ndevelopment for unending economic growth, we can rely on nature\u2019s systems to
\nreadily meet our needs.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nLocally, the Rahma Clinic
\n Edible Forest
\n Garden on South Salina St. is
\nseeding the idea of forests as urban food resources. Rahma (\u201cmercy\u201d in Arabic)
\nis a free health clinic. It is a project of the Muslim American Care and
\nCompassion Alliance (MACCA), which is an organization started by members of the
\nlocal Muslim community. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nPermaculture
\ndesign principles, best practices for using nature\u2019s systems to integrate human
\nneeds into the landscape, are being used to develop the 1\/10th acre site.
\nReflecting the health mission of the Rahma Clinic, the forest garden will
\nprovide fruits and perennial vegetables to be picked and eaten as an
\nalternative to the convenience foods found on most corners.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nForest<\/span> gardens are unparalleled food systems. Temperate forests are
\namong the world\u2019s most productive ecosystems, surpassed only by tropical
\nforests, swamps, marshes and estuaries, which are harder to come by in rust
\nbelt cities. Forests are over twice as productive as single dimensional
\nagricultural or garden land. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nForests are
\nalso extremely resilient, something desperately needed in our neighborhoods.
\nResiliency, the sustained ability of a system to respond to disturbances and
\nretain function and structure, is exhibited throughout nature\u2019s complex web.
\nNature\u2019s design showcases that system success and integrity are possible
\nwithout current environmental industrialization. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe need for
\nnatural processes is being increasingly recognized in our society. Rain
\nbarrels, rain gardens, green roofs, porous pavement\u2014as supported by Onondaga
\nCounty Save the Rain, are good examples of decentralized and ecologically
\nsound, though at times one dimensional, solutions. True resiliency is ensured
\nby practices that are multidimensional, not just physically\u2014as forest gardens
\nexhibit with vertical tiers and horizontal intercropping, but also in
\necosystems and community services. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nTransforming our Social Future<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nA forest garden combines the best of green
\ninfrastructure\u2019s ecosystem services with the edibles production of traditional
\ncommunity gardening. It reduces inputs by local sourcing\u2014transforming our
\nphysical landscape into a permanent resource and shifting our community
\nlandscape into one poised for ecological and social complexity. Hence, allowing
\nus to create resilient, stable food systems and empowering communities to
\nprepare for the major transitions to come. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe trifecta
\nof economic instability, climate change and peak oil present a massive
\nchallenge to our generation and those to come.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nAs we
\ncollectively move forward towards social cooperation, ending our domination of
\nnature must accompany this journey. By developing perennial food resources, we
\nalso create perennial ecocentric forest resources and an opportunity for
\nincreased comfort with nature. Permaculture design ethics, people-care,
\nplanet-care and fair-share of surplus provides a framework for creating future
\nendeavors in the spirit of cohesive security among our neighbors.<\/span> <\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nFrank is the President of the Alchemical
\nNursery, serves on SPC\u2019s Advisory Committee and works as a Certified Business
\nAdvisor for the Small Business Development
\nCenter at Onondaga Community College.
<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[img_assist|nid=203|title=|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=327|height=212] The international community celebrated the United Nations\u2019 \u201cYear of the Forest\u201d in 2011. The Vibrant Cities and Urban Forests Task Force, convened by the US Forest Service, published their \u201cNational Call to Action\u201d\u2014a vision for how urban forests can serve our cities\u2019 needs for health, social services, landscape design…<\/p>\n Learn More<\/span><\/i><\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":8,"template":"","class_list":["post-10210","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clients.elainemichele.com\/SPC2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/10210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clients.elainemichele.com\/SPC2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clients.elainemichele.com\/SPC2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clients.elainemichele.com\/SPC2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} |