Richard Walker spoke to Osoyoos Rotarians about food forests and the food and medicinal plants that potentially could be grown here in a community forest. (Richard McGuire photo)
The ancestors of humans gathered their food in trees of the forests, so Richard Walker is drawing from the distant past when he promotes food forestry.
Historically, the most desirable places for human habitation have been where the sounds of birds signaled the presence of food, he said.
Walker, who now lives in Osoyoos, grew up on an organic mixed farm near Tofield, Alta. He moved to Grand Forks in 1985 and developed a three-and-a-half-acre “worn-out horse pasture” into a food forest.
Now he’s growing one here in Osoyoos.
Walker was a recent guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Osoyoos where he expressed hope that the food forest can be adopted in Osoyoos.
A food forest, he said, uses the concept of stacking shrubs, small trees, medium trees and tall trees, just like they would be found in a forest.
He spoke about the many plants – some well known, some less known – that can produce food and medicine.
“That way we can get a lot more production out of a given area,” said Walker. “It also adds a lot of biodiversity to our environment, whether we’re in the city, a town or the country.”
Walker showed the Rotarians photos of some of the fruits, berries, nuts and leaves that could be grown and eaten here.
There are nuts like pecans, that grow on spreading trees, Asian pears, raspberries and many kinds of kiwi that are smaller and less furry than the ones commonly found in the grocery store.
“In my experience, once people have tasted the argutas, the smaller fruited varieties, they are total converts,” he said referring to a hairless kiwi a fraction of the size of the ones sold in stores.
“You’ll never go back to eating the large ones, because they taste so much better,” said Walker.
You could get a food forest started very quickly on a small piece of land, he said, but a thriving food forest is a long-term commitment. You are growing perennials rather than annuals.
“I like to think of it like banking,” he said. “One is your cash account which is the kind of gardening we do with annuals. Our food forest with perennials is our RRSP.”
But because the food forest is a multi-layered system, some of the smaller plants and bushes like strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, currents and perennial vegetables could produce in the first year.
“That could actually happen very quickly,” Walker said.
On the other hand, canopy trees, which are also part of a mature food forest, might not produce for about five or 10 years.
So why aren’t there more food forests around, either run privately or as community projects?
Walker says they have been springing up in such diverse places as Sheffield, England; Saskatoon, Sask.; Seattle, WA; and Kamloops and Penticton in B.C.
“It’s going to vary widely from community to community,” he said when asked about obstacles the concept faces. “There are two or three stumbling blocks. Access to land would be the first problem. And the commitment to dedicate the land to it. Obviously what we’re planning here is a long-term strategy.”
He suggested that a food forest project could be multi-generational, but over the years, many people would benefit from it.
There’s also the initial perception of people who don’t see a forest as a source of food.
“Once people realize and see working examples of it, it makes a big difference,” said Walker. “It’s a concept that runs almost opposite to what we’ve thought about the way we can produce food. It’s a different way of doing things.”
Does a food forest make economic sense, or is it only something that people pursue out of passion?
“It can be any of those,” said Walker. “It can be made to work economically quite easily. It can be just a work of love, of enjoyment. Instead of playing golf, you might be working in the food forest.”
He acknowledges that it’s labour intensive at the beginning, but he said the labour requirement drops off sharply as the forest becomes established.
Walker envisions community food forests similar to community gardens, with those who do the work reaping the benefits. They could even be run in conjunction with community gardens.
“There are many different formulas for how they work,” he said.
Walker his written a book about the concept, “Food Forestry North of the 49th,” which was published at the beginning of 2016.
He also does consulting for people interested in starting a food forest.
Walker said he would love to see a community food forest started in Osoyoos.
“We have unbelievable potential here,” Walker said. “What you could grow here and how you could do it is just stunning.”
He also sees potential synergies between food forestry and Osoyoos culinary experiences.
“We have the perfect (climatic) zoning here for pecans,” said Walker. “What I really dream about is seeing the Okanagan River lined with pecan trees.”
Walker can be reached at 778-437-2028.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
