"Landscape Dinner"
Section MS10, Freya Spencer-Wood
Keywords: nature, landscape, set design, environment, animation, food
Landscape Dinner explores how edible landscapes relate to environmental change, soil conditions, irrigation techniques and community participation. The animation is a creative response to the process of designing and implementing edible landscapes and reflects on their politics, ecological sustainability and associated stakeholders. The animation forms part of an installation that invites the viewer to sit down at the table and dine in the edible landscape.
The animation uses mushrooms to symbolise bigger forces at play - changes in mushroom species and human and environmental responses unpack the following themes:
Sustainable Ecology Edible landscapes promote robust and healthy urban ecosystems for sustainable patterns of food production and consumption.
Resilient City (Climate Change Adaptation) The design of edible landscapes takes into account the challenges that cities face, such as climate change.
Community Engagement Community participation is a core concept of edible landscapes, recognising the importance of the inclusion of community members in the planting, conservation, and gathering of food.
Social Justice (Food Security) Edible landscapes can enhance food accessibility and equity, ensuring that all community members have access to safe, nutrient-dense food that promotes social justice.
Environmental Education Through participation in edible landscapes, people are able to learn about food production, ecosystems and sustainability, thus enhancing their environmental education.
Degrowth Edible landscapes emphasise the importance of producing food in a sustainable way, in contrast to traditional models of high consumption and wasteful food production, and fit in with the idea of reducing economic growth.