XV. Cultural Forests

Indigenous forest gardens are a historically widespread and integrated land stewardship system in the Pacific Northwest of North America. Western science has long overlooked these practices and it is only recently that archaeologists have begun to systematically and collaboratively study the material remnants of these practices. This research presents the results of phytolith analyses, reconstructing forest garden landscapes in Sts’ailes Territories (British Columbia). Furthermore, a province-wide comparative collection of modern phytoliths from culturally significant forest garden species was established to assess the extent to which diagnostic features of, mostly, perennial fruit shrubs can be used in archaeological contexts.

Sacred groves are forest areas containing idols worshiped and protected through belief systems. India has over 100,000 groves. The Western Ghats, including Kerala, contains numerous small groves.  Sacred groves are shrinking due to changes in lifestyle, socio-cultural systems, and waning trust in belief systems. Kerala’s high population density and urbanization has contributed to the decline. We conducted a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies about sacred groves, using a survey of online databases conducted in Scopus, Google Scholar, Pubmed, and Web of Science, as well as offline libraries. Reference to ‘sacred groves’ was found in 84 online articles and 25 offline articles. We grouped the articles into three categories: socio-cultural aspects; management; and biodiversity.  The decline of groves threatens the biological diversity of the groves as well their associated socio-cultural systems. There is a need to document the socio-cultural systems associated with the groves and also biodiversity changes.

Forest farming—the intentional cultivation of crops in a forest understory—is a form of forest stewardship practiced around the world. In the face of environmental degradation, the practice, a form of agroforestry, is being increasingly recognized as a strategy to advance environmental goals while revitalizing cultural traditions and boosting the economics of forest-based livelihoods. This inspired the Northeast Forest Farmers Coalition (NFFC), a federally-funded initiative with a goal of building a community of practice around forest farming in the Northeast U.S. This presentation showcases the journey of the NFFC over three years. The project blends community-building efforts with research into forest farming approaches across the Northeast United States. This presentation reflects on milestones of the project, including the establishment of five Research and Demonstration sites, a burgeoning coalition of 500 forest farmers, and a region-wide mentorship program. We also look to the future of agroforestry in the Northeast and beyond.

Indigenous peoples in Pacific Northwest actively managed forests for millennia, yet scholars know little about the extent to which their management practices impacted soil properties. Recent research has shown that the legacies of historical peoples’ active management of temperate forests can still be observed today in native plant foodsheds called “forest gardens” composed largely of deciduous fruit trees and shrubs, growing near archaeological village sites. Forest garden ecosystems and plant foods were historically actively managed through practices such as burning, transplanting, clearing, and fertilizing. Historical soil management may play a vital role in maintaining these landscapes. Here we aim to investigate how ancestral practices and changes in vegetation properties affect soil properties influencing nutrient cycling and organic matter dynamics. To guide the revitalization of Indigenous forest garden stewardship, we partner with Kitselas First Nation to gain a deeper understanding of ancestral practices from Indigenous research methodologies.

India is home to thousands of community-protected forests, called sacred groves. Sacred forests or groves are sites that have cultural or spiritual significance to the people who live around them. They represent the manifestation of a value-belief-norm system. These areas may also be key reservoirs of biodiversity. Sacred forests have been protected around the world for a variety of reasons, including religious practices or ceremonies, as burial grounds, and for their watershed value. The sacred groves of India are shrinking or disappearing due to cultural change and pressure to use the natural resources within the groves. We will share the case study of one sacred grove in Kerala, India, that was carefully restored by one family. This is a case of intergenerational communication and respect of belief systems, flow of knowledge transfer that supports biocultural conservation. Culturally protected sacred sites can have a role as key biodiversity conservation areas.

The Philippines being one of the mega-diverse countries yet vulnerable to climate change. Guided by the Lasallian Brothers, the Lasallian Institute For the Environment (LIFE) has formulated the One Million Trees and Beyond Project (OMTB) in 2006, with the aim of mobilizing the then 16 Lasallian schools in the Philippines to formulate a more proactive response to deforestation. The project was set to plant more than one million trees by 2011 — the centennial of Lasallian presence in the Philippines. The project intended to involve the Philippine Lasallian Family in sustainable reforestation and greening efforts. LIFE partnered and coordinated with various local communities including peoples organizations and indigenous communities. In 2022, this project had almost 1.7 million trees and continues to promote biodiversity conservation by exploring new and prospect sites especially for Philippine native trees. Way forward, OMTB has birthed the La Salle Botanical Gardens which aims to prioritize the conservation of Philippine native trees and plants.