Horticulture & Related FieldsAnna Beach

Assessing the Nutritional and Cultural Value of the Urban Forest in the Evolving Biocultural Landscape of Syracuse, New York

Foraged plants, and the simultaneous nutritional and cultural nourishment they provide, are marginalized in discussions of food systems solutions and ecological restoration approaches. Few studies have quantified the nutritional yield from urban forests or the cultural importance of urban street trees with edible fruits in the United States. Such research is vital in assessing edible trees as an important, free source of phytonutrients and encouraging their integration in urban, managed landscapes. Through strategic harvests and interviews with diverse community members, this research will investigate the nutritional and cultural yields of hawthorns (Crataegus spp.), wild cherry (Prunus avium), chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), native crabapples (Malus spp.), and shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) across the City of Syracuse, New York.