Czech initiative bears free fruit
With the arrival of spring, fruit trees across the Czech Republic have started to bloom, promising to yield a rich harvest in the months to come. For those who don’t own a patch of land but would still like to experience the pleasure of picking fruit rather than shopping for it in the supermarket, there is a new initiative called Na Ovoce – Fruit Picking. The website, which was launched just a few weeks ago, maps the occurrence of accessible wild fruit trees, shrubs and herbs that grow around the country.
Kateřina Kubánková: “I would say that we are all nature enthusiasts and all of us have some personal experience, because we used to pick fruits with our parents. So we were just looking for a way to show people what we are all surrounded by.”
Are there already some similar initiatives elsewhere in the world?
KK: “Definitely. When we got the idea, we made a research and we found out that there is a similar initiative in Germany that has been around for four years. It is called Mundraub. There is another one in Slovakia, called Fruitmap, and we decided to cooperate with them from the very beginning.”
So can you outline the main idea behind your initiative? What are your main goals?
Tomáš Dvořák: “The main idea behind the initiative is to map publicly available fruit trees and to initiate their protection and to raise the public awareness about them.”
Who are the members of your team and does anyone actually have a background in biology or botany?
“The main idea behind the initiative is to map publicly available fruit trees and to initiate their protection and to raise the public awareness about them.”
KK: “So far we are four people with very different backgrounds and we have no professional experience in botany. But as I said earlier, we love nature and we love to spend time outside and we are aware of the treasures that can be found there. And of course we also like food.”
The main part of your initiative is an online map where anyone can find wild trees and shrubs and hers. Can anyone contribute to the creating of that map?
TD: “Everybody can contribute. Every shared user can share his or her findings on the map.”
So how does it actually work?
TD: “You simply enter the website, register. It is pretty straightforward. And then you are allowed to make entries for the trees or shrubs.”
As far as I know, you have set up certain rules that have to be followed by the users. Can you tell me more about that?
TD: “We have come up with a list of rules which obviously include the basic question: if a particular tree or herb is public or free for use? So this is the main gist of the list.
“But it also includes basic rules about protection and rules that imply the sustainability of the area.”
TD: “You said difficult but I would call it challenging. In some cases you have to talk to the locals, you need to make an effort, but it is not really a big deal. A couple of questions can take you a long way.”
You have also mentioned taking care of the plants and maintaining them. How exactly can that be done?
KK: “This is something for the future, because the initiative has just been launched. We hope well have chance to cooperate with organizations that are taking care of the trees. I have a feeling that the sometimes struggle with publicity and this is where we can help them.
“I hope when the right moment comes we can also ask our followers to actively participate. Because our project is not only about taking but also about giving back.”
Your website includes a list of all the wild species that can be found around the country. Some of them, I have to admit, are quite unknown to me, for instance dřín and oskeruše, which I think translates into English as service tree.
KK: “The species that you mentioned used to be very common and well known in the past but nowadays they are almost forgotten. But thanks to our users, we already have two places where you can actually see dřín.”
“Oskeruše is my personally favourite tree, because it’s a real witness of the past. The oldest one in the Czech Republic, in South Moravia, is already 400 years old.”
What is it? Is it a tree?
KK: It is a tree. It has a red fruit, with a shape similar to olives, and it is quite easy to recognise. It is sweet and can be used for making marmalades, syrup, and liquor.
“But I have to add that you have to be very careful when gathering its fruit because dřín is a nationally protected plant. So you can pick but you have to take care.
“Oskeruše is my personally favourite tree, I would say, because it’s a real witness of the past. The oldest one in the Czech Republic, in South Moravia, is already 400 years old. It is really beautiful in spring and in autumn, when it is changing the colours.
“The tree also provides delicious fruit and probably not many people know that it is also used for its wood, because it is one of the hardest one available in Europe.”
The astronomical spring has already arrived but there is still snow in the mountain areas. Is there actually anything right now on you map that can be gathered and consumed?
TD: “There is wild garlic, which is pretty trendy these days, everyone is talking about it. And there are also some special kinds of mushrooms. We don’t actually map mushrooms, but there is another website, called nahouby.cz, which maps muchroom sites pretty well in a really sophisticated way.”
If your users actually come up with something that is not on your list, will you allow them to put it on your map?
KK: We were already contacted by people if we could add dřín (cornus), but also mišpule (medlar) and aronia, which was not on our map. There is a woman who wanted to add aronia from her garden, so actually it’s not a public tree, but a private one, on a private property.
“She said she had so much fruit every year that she couldn’t consume it, so she decided to invite people to come. Anybody can ring the bell, she will open the door and they can pick the fruit. So this is also a way our map can work and we are very happy about that.”
KK: “So far it’s about 110 users and it’s getting more and more every day. But as I said, we are cooperating with the Slovak map, so we didn’t start from zero. We already had some places when we were launching the site.
“And there are also other initiatives or individuals who are creating separate maps dedicated to certain species, for instance the wild garlic, and we are very happy that the project is alive. It shows that the project is very much alive and that it is needed.”
