Science Forums 2

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by belovelife

Have you ever thought of planting parks with fruit and nut trees. This would have diversity, and provide food. In big cities with homless people, the food would be gathered before it went bad. And the only drawback would be watering them. Although we water trees that donot produce food already. I know in Eugene, Or there is a park with trees, and all the houses that surround the park have either apple or pear trees. But I only remmeber on fruit tree in the actual park.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of those Eugene parks were once orchards, but you would have to check local historical sources for specifics. The Willamette Valley after all was a main destination for pioneers heading West on the Oregon Trail. Eugene Oregon History

The gathering of the fruit is a good idea, and referred to as "gleening". Some communities organize volunteers to identify fruit trees in peoples' yards and in the parks, and then to go out & pick it when it's ripe for their own use as well as distribution to food charities. Here is a US Government page on the topic: >> Food Recovery and Gleaning Initiative/Contents page

An advantage to planting "native" plants is that they don't require watering once established as they are already acclimated to the local conditions.