Ethnobotanical Networks Thru Community Gardens

Date and Time: 
Thursday, 11 May, 2017 - 15:00
Author(s): 
Best
, Sunshine - Tulane University

Plants used by indigenous / pre-colonized societies throughout the world have gained Western attention as fad “exotic foods”. Yet reliable evidence-based knowledge about indigenous plants has yet to be shared with the public, especially plants of the African Diaspora. I’ll present how re-engagement of old-ways of plant use may be applied to various contemporary community health & wellness challenges through knowledge-sharing on local and transnational levels. Additionally I address the challenges of monoculture in community gardens. A solution: expanding the variety of plants through inception of a user content-driven, online platform of collected traditional plants from various cultures. An ethnobotany database with various applications, including evidence-based scientific citations. I’ll focus on the role of “Community Gardens” and benefits of establishing networks not only as vehicles for sharing diverse histories and cultures of food, but also as connecting points between people who share knowledge and skills.