Imagining Edible Berries: Temperate Mature Forest Ecology

Black Bears, Black-Throated Blue Warbler, Edible Berries

Many edible native berries grow in New York State. These include raspberries, strawberries, black caps, blueberries, and snowberries. People of the Oneida Nation utilize many of these berries as a source of food and in natural medicines. The strawberry is a particularly important plant, as it is the first food to become available after long winters. Many of the Oneida people give their children strawberries as their first food and produce medicines with it as well.

Native berries also can contribute to more sustainable food systems by providing a healthy local source of food to both people and animals. When these plants are left to grow naturally in forest ecosystems, they contribute to healthy black bear populations. Leaving forests undisturbed ensures that there is enough food for bears so that they are less inclined to rely on trash left by humans as a food source. As outdoor recreational activities like camping, climbing, and hiking have become more popular, human-bear interactions have been more common. When black bears come into contact with people or become too comfortable around places where people frequently are, they often are killed or relocated for safety purposes. However, due to efforts to reduce human-bear interactions by educating people on not feeding bears and using bear-proof containers, their populations have thrived and people are learning to live in harmony with them.

Composition installed and designed by: Amarachi Iheanyichukwu, Meaghan Kendall, Jacob Panetta, Sam Schlichting

My name is Claudia Buszta, and I am an Environmental Geography major. I am working this year with Professor Haughwout on the 6th E Street project to illustrate how different organisms relate to each other within their ecological communities. Our focus is on regional ecosystems in New York State, identifying how native species interact with human activity. These summaries are meant to accompany the visualizations of the ecologies within the tunnels.