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["Brungardt, Sam" <Sam.Brungardt@state.mn.us>]

Title: We're going to plant fruit trees in every city street! (Glasgow Evening Times)

Here's an interesting story and it's not the first one I've seen about making fruit trees part of the "urban forest."  I've seen some about similar efforts in U.S. cities.  The whole idea is to either (a) educate young people about where fruit comes from or (b) to provide a source of fruit that could be harvested for people who ordinarily could not afford it.

It begs a number of questions, however:

• Are city foresters or property owners willing to spray to contain pests (if this is necessary)?
• Are the locals, like Americans, too fixated on picture-perfect fruit to find naturally grown fruit acceptable?
• Are property owners and their neighbors willing to put up with the mess that falling fruit may present?
• Is the city or property owner protected if someone were to fall out of a tree or get hurt some other way picking the fruit?
• Should only species that produce damage-free or little-damaged fruit without spraying be planted?

We're going to plant fruit trees in every city street!  Glasgow (Scotland) Evening Times
AN ambitious plan to plant a fruit tree in almost every street in Glasgow has been unveiled. This winter 1000 fruit trees will be …

Idea bears fruit as pupils challenged to plant 1000 trees               The Herald, UK - Sep 19, 2006
A group of schoolchildren yesterday set in motion a challenge to fellow pupils throughout Glasgow to plant 1000 fruit trees in the city this winter. ...