By Liam Palmer
Interactions:
Innovation Food Forest has a fair share of interactions with the surrounding environment and the people who utilize it. One of which is what it was designed for: restore the natural cycles, biodiversity, and habitat of a forest by capturing and using energy, water, as well as other resources while providing sustainable perennial food sources for people and wildlife (Innovation Food Forest – Office of Sustainability, n.d.).
Resource Characteristics:
Food forests have quite the impact on the surrounding environment – in a positive sense. Food forests essentially emulate young forests while having the plants present be edible, this helps contribute to reforestation (Food Forests to Feed the Future, 2021).
Governance/User Characteristics:
Volunteers run the food forest and keep up with the maintenance. The Office of Sustainability also hires staff to aid in managing it (Innovation Food Forest – Office of Sustainability, n.d.). For political institutions, the only one’s present would be those overseeing any potential expansions to the Food Forest, which would be through the Mason Green Fund and the Office of Sustainability.
Related Ecosystems:
Economically, the Innovation Food Forest shows development, it adds income to the economy by allowing those who work there to participate economically. It also allows people to save on money by providing some food to the community. Food forests also have a social and cultural setting for those that participate. Since the edible plants are easily accessible to people, it reconnects healthier eating habits as well as developing a neighboring community (Riolo, 2019).
Improvements:
The most massive improvement to an already great initiative would be to expand the food forest. Currently, it’s not listed as to how large the food forest actually is. However, there has been a study that showed that one hectare (~2.47 acres) can supply carbohydrates, fats, and a small amount of protein (Nytofte & Henriksen, 2019). Another improvement would be to add more native flora to the Food Forest. Of the 24 species listed on the plant inventory page, approximately eight of them are native to Virginia (Innovation Food Forest – Office of Sustainability, n.d., Native Plants for Conservation, Restoration and Landscaping, n.d.).
Bibliography
Food forests to feed the future. (2021, March 19). BCFN Foundation: Food and Nutrition Sustainability Index. https://foodsustainability-cms.eiu.com/food-forests-to-feed-the-future/
Innovation Food Forest – Office of Sustainability. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2022, from https://green.gmu.edu/campus-sustainability/campus-gardens/ff-home/
Native Plants for Conservation, Restoration and Landscaping. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2022, from https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/nativeplants
Nytofte, J. L. S., & Henriksen, C. B. (2019). Sustainable food production in a temperate climate – a case study analysis of the nutritional yield in a peri-urban food forest. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 45, 126326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2019.04.009
Riolo, F. (2019). The social and environmental value of public urban food forests: The case study of the Picasso Food Forest in Parma, Italy. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 45, 126225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2018.10.002