13 votes

Peckish pedestrians in Copenhagen will soon be able to pluck healthy snacks directly from greenery around the city

3 comments

  1. [3]
    rmgr
    Link
    This seems like one of those things that is great on paper but doesn't pan out in reality.

    This seems like one of those things that is great on paper but doesn't pan out in reality.

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      Sahasrahla
      Link Parent
      When the subject of "guerrilla gardening" comes up (pretty much like in the article except it's something people do on their own, rather than being a government initiative) the objection is...

      When the subject of "guerrilla gardening" comes up (pretty much like in the article except it's something people do on their own, rather than being a government initiative) the objection is usually that there's the risk of creating a mess and attracting pests. I think this can be handled though if the locations are chosen well: grafting a peach branch to a roadside tree could be an issue when it drops fruit onto someone's parked car and leaves a bunch of rotting fruit on the side of the road, but putting some blueberry bushes in a church yard shouldn't be a problem.

      Anecdotally the North American cities I've lived in have all had berry trees/bushes growing wild in public spaces and I never heard of it being a problem. People would pick some berries if they felt like it and some elementary schools even used it for education. The only issue I can think of is I'm not sure of the safety of eating berries growing right up against a busy road where they're exposed to exhaust fumes constantly.

      3 votes
      1. MimicSquid
        Link Parent
        I have an anecdote of it being a problem: Davis, California had olive trees planted all over. When the fruit was ripe, the streets were covered with a slippery, oily paste that smelled of rotting...

        I have an anecdote of it being a problem: Davis, California had olive trees planted all over. When the fruit was ripe, the streets were covered with a slippery, oily paste that smelled of rotting olive oil. They finally had a student organization start harvesting the olives to sell the oil. It never made money, but it broke even and the streets weren't disgusting anymore.

        2 votes