permaculture

["Gaden@ziplip.com" <Gaden@ziplip.com>]

Hi Michele,

I cannot refer you to anyone in your area. I have no contacts there. Best I 
can do for you is give you a few ideas.

It does depend a bit on the nature of your location, how building intensive 
the area is etc. Food resources will include edible native species, exotics, 
escaped herbs and vegetables, overhanging fruit trees and so. 

How do you find out about them? Start simple. Just go for a walk and explore 
the neighbourhood. (Take a child or two with you, they are great explorers) 
Work at becoming actively aware of your surroundings. With what you already 
know, see what you recognise around the place.  

If you see something interesting, have a closer look at it. Use all your 
senses too. Have a look around you for somebody nearby. Might be somebody 
working in their garden, a paid gardener in a public park. Start up a 
conversation with them and see what they know. In other words, tap into oral 
history of that area. 

Keep an eye out for well established gardens, vegetable patches etc. Pretty 
good chance they've been establshed by someone who knows a fair bit about 
these things. If you can, barter your time with them. Offer to help out with 
the more mundane tasks like weeding, turning compost etc. Then get chatting 
with them while you work beside them.

Or perhaps you might see a fruit tree loaded with fruit and much of it 
falling onto the ground? Just try knocking on the door and asking for some. 
You might be surprised how often people say yes, help yourself. It might be 
an elderly person who has trouble getting to the tree. They might appreciate 
you getting some for them as well.

Lots of other possibilities. Large trees like carob, acorns, pecans are 
sometimes planted for shade along streets & parks. Vacant lots often have 
overgrown gardens from past inhabitants. I know someone who when they spy out 
vacant land, scuffs in some seeds such as pumpkins. Guerrilla gardening, he 
calls it!!

Once you begin to tune into your locality, then you can begin to deepen your 
research. All the usual stuff like libraries, internet, local 
gardening/permaculture organisations, botanical gardens etc.

Then go on to sharing your knowledge with others. Spread it around.

I'll end with a caution. When collecting food from pubic sources be aware of 
the possibility of contaminants, especially on leafy materials. Anything too 
close to a roadway might be suspect. Public parks etc might use herbicides 
etc that may render materials inedibile. Make sure you know what you are 
eating.

Good luck,

Gaiden