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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Booneville, Arkansas » Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #398437
Research Project: Sustainable Small Farm and Organic Grass and Forage Production Systems for Livestock and Agroforestry

Location: Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center

Title: Community orchards for food security, human health, and climate resilience: Indigenous roots and contemporary applications

Author
item TAYLOR LOVELL, SARAH - UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
item HAYMAN, JANN - OSAGE NATION
item HEMMELGARN, HANNAH - UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
item HUNTER, ANDREA - OSAGE NATION
item TAYLOR, JOHN - UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

Submitted to: Forests
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/3/2021
Publication Date: 11/7/2021
Citation: Taylor Lovell, S., Hayman, J., Hemmelgarn, H., Hunter, A.A., Taylor, J.R. 2021. Community orchards for food security, human health, and climate resilience: Indigenous roots and contemporary applications. Forests. 12(11):1533. https://doi.org/10.3390/f12111533.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/f12111533

Interpretive Summary: We face complex challenges related to food insecurity, human health, and climate extremes. Community orchards could play a valuable role as nature-based solutions, with a variety of nut- and fruit-producing trees and berry shrubs established together on public spaces to provide the community with healthy, fresh food. In this paper, historical roots and contemporary applications are considered for Indigenous communities in the US that seek to care for their communities and the environment using community orchards and other forms of urban agroforestry. A case study of the Osage Orchard project in Pawhuska, OK, USA, highlights the value of reconnecting with cultural foods and practices of Osage ancestors, to meet the needs and preferences of a contemporary Indigenous community.

Technical Abstract: Community orchards could play a valuable role as nature-based solutions to complex challenges we face today. In these unique plantings, a variety of nut- and fruit-producing trees and berry shrubs are often established together on public spaces to provide the community with healthy, fresh food. Interest in these plantings has been increasing in the United States, even more so since the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted vulnerabilities in our food systems. However, the roots of community orchards can be traced back to Indigenous foodways which have persisted for millennia. Then and now, community orchards support an array of functions, positioning them to contribute to solutions to major challenges related to food security, human health, and climate resilience. In this paper, contemporary applications are considered for Indigenous communities in the US that seek to care for their communities and the environment. A case study of the Osage Orchard project in Pawhuska, OK, USA, highlights the value of reconnecting with cultural foods and practices of Osage ancestors, to meet the needs and preferences of a contemporary Indigenous community.