Hey there! So I’ve had this dream that someday, sooner rather than later, we will have a restored “hoop” again for the east coast. Essentially what Finisia Medrano is doing out west, but for us east coasters. A hoop is a migratory circuit, which through appropriate tending and cultivation may yield a harvest wave, the crest of which we could ride all year round by following the circuit round and round in a circle according to the seasons. A migratory pattern. Although the east coast has it’s challenges (lots of metropolises in close proximity to one another, suburban sprawl, numerous highways, etc.), we also have some nice advantages such as numerous trail systems and greenways through the cities. Also, the Appalachian Trail, for instance, is 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine. Extending that trail system just a little further south into mid-Florida would allow us to ride the crest of a 70-degree weather harvest wave all year round. Except for a buddy of mine who’s been following such a migration pattern for nearly seven years now, I don’t know of anyone else who has even tried. Do you?
What I’m getting at is wouldn’t it be great if we east coasters all got together and networked to establish a sort of unofficial trail for rewilders, with sites of interest and oasis stops described along the way. We can rebuild the east coast forager’s circuit! The remnants of indigenous tending still mark our landscape here. I don’t think it’s an accident that we still find chestnut, hickory, white oak group, blueberry, huckleberry, ramps, and pawpaw together, or that we find black walnut, hackberry, hazelnut, and mulberry together. These were all important staple foods once, and they are still there for those who recognize them.