Local presenter urges Fayetteville to expand community food-forest plantings and GIS mapping

Tosh, a presenter and local business partner, urged the Fayetteville Urban Forestry Advisory Council to expand edible native plantings, adopt a citywide food-forest network and publish a foraging layer on the Fayetteville GIS.

Tosh said the concept draws from a 2008 community-design report and a separate 28-page proposal his team calls HICO Archipelago. He described a citywide approach that distributes small “community forest gardens” and edible street plantings across neighborhoods rather than concentrating a single large site. “We were looking at creating a network of community forest gardens throughout the city,” Tosh said.

Tosh highlighted examples and practical constraints: some fruit- and nut-bearing species are unsuitable as street trees because they can create litter but could be placed in parks, greenways and the Ramble. He said the group’s proposal included a map of candidate sites and a volunteer list of more than 300 Fayetteville residents who indicated willingness to help with planting and maintenance.

Council members and other speakers raised maintenance, public perceptions and safety concerns. One participant noted opponents have raised worries about attracting unhoused people, ground litter and deer; Tosh replied that involving volunteers and explicitly permitting public harvesting can reduce those problems. He also said his group’s earlier outreach included a community feedback survey and volunteer sign-up to demonstrate interest to city departments.

Tosh recommended starting with modest adjustments to the city’s existing tree budget — planting more native edible trees in routine plantings — while building toward more complex food-forest parklets that require more community maintenance. He pointed to a proposed university-owned parcel downtown as an example where a smaller “food parklet” might be appropriate and noted Fayetteville already has several community food-forest examples nationally to emulate.

The council said it will publish a food-foraging map in May and integrate citizen-sourced submissions into the Fayetteville GIS; John (a council contributor working with GIS) was specifically mentioned as adding a foraging index layer. The council discussed education and literacy around preparing and using lesser-known native foods (for example, passionfruit, American groundnut and serviceberry) and noted that social-program design is critical for long-term success.

No formal action or funding commitment was taken at the meeting; presenters and council members discussed next steps including outreach to park district culture teams and potential pilot sites such as Walker Park.