Characterizing Urban Fishing and Foraging in Two Great Lakes Cities
Project Leads & Investigators
Sarah Lavallée (MA in Geography, Carleton University), Dr. Vivian Nguyen (Biology, Carleton University), Dr. Sheryl-Ann Simpson (Geography, Carleton University), Tamara Donnelly (PhD in Biology, Carleton University).
Overview
Food insecurity has increased substantially in recent years, particularly impacting immigrants, people of colour, and other equity-deserving communities. Public commons, defined as shared public spaces such as parks and lakeshores, can provide inexpensive and accessible food. However, these spaces are not always thought of as a food source. What about the old pear tree in the public park? Or the walleye that can be fished off the pier downtown? While initiatives like community gardens and food forests are effective at providing nutritious, local, and affordable food to the public, these projects often require funding, extensive planning, and buy-in from local governments. Much less attention has been paid to the potential of wild food harvesting, such as fishing and foraging, in urban commons as a way to address food insecurity and provide culturally-relevant food to an increasingly diverse urban population. Other exploratory research has suggested that wild food harvesting can provide other ‘services’ beyond food, such as building community, fostering environmental stewardship, and strengthening cultural identity. However, this topic is understudied and deserving of greater consideration from the research community.
This research project examines the importance of urban green and blue commons (e.g. parks, lakes) as food sources in two case study regions: the Greater Cleveland Area, Ohio and the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario. This research aims to better understand the experiences of diverse groups of people who use the commons in their cities for food, as well as the barriers to participating in wild food harvesting. Using a combination of group discussions, surveys, and participatory mapping, we heard from local shore anglers, immigrants, and foragers in the Cleveland and Toronto regions to understand these experiences and the benefits derived from these practices.
Sarah Lavallée (MA in Geography, Carleton University), Dr. Vivian Nguyen (Biology, Carleton University), Dr. Sheryl-Ann Simpson (Geography, Carleton University), Tamara Donnelly (PhD in Biology, Carleton University).
Overview
Food insecurity has increased substantially in recent years, particularly impacting immigrants, people of colour, and other equity-deserving communities. Public commons, defined as shared public spaces such as parks and lakeshores, can provide inexpensive and accessible food. However, these spaces are not always thought of as a food source. What about the old pear tree in the public park? Or the walleye that can be fished off the pier downtown? While initiatives like community gardens and food forests are effective at providing nutritious, local, and affordable food to the public, these projects often require funding, extensive planning, and buy-in from local governments. Much less attention has been paid to the potential of wild food harvesting, such as fishing and foraging, in urban commons as a way to address food insecurity and provide culturally-relevant food to an increasingly diverse urban population. Other exploratory research has suggested that wild food harvesting can provide other ‘services’ beyond food, such as building community, fostering environmental stewardship, and strengthening cultural identity. However, this topic is understudied and deserving of greater consideration from the research community.
This research project examines the importance of urban green and blue commons (e.g. parks, lakes) as food sources in two case study regions: the Greater Cleveland Area, Ohio and the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario. This research aims to better understand the experiences of diverse groups of people who use the commons in their cities for food, as well as the barriers to participating in wild food harvesting. Using a combination of group discussions, surveys, and participatory mapping, we heard from local shore anglers, immigrants, and foragers in the Cleveland and Toronto regions to understand these experiences and the benefits derived from these practices.
Visual summary of research methods and participant groups, Lavallée, 2026.
Guiding Questions
1. What kinds of wild food harvesting (e.g. foraging, fishing) are practiced in Cleveland and the GTA, and which urban populations engage in them?
2. What motivates urban residents to harvest wild food? Why is it important to them?
3. How do urban blue commons differ from urban green commons in terms of their ability to provide food and other cultural ecosystem services to users?
4. What prevents and facilitates urban food harvesting? Are there different barriers and facilitators for distinct populations?
1. What kinds of wild food harvesting (e.g. foraging, fishing) are practiced in Cleveland and the GTA, and which urban populations engage in them?
2. What motivates urban residents to harvest wild food? Why is it important to them?
3. How do urban blue commons differ from urban green commons in terms of their ability to provide food and other cultural ecosystem services to users?
4. What prevents and facilitates urban food harvesting? Are there different barriers and facilitators for distinct populations?
Preliminary Results
Findings highlight the importance of wild food harvesting for cultural heritage, intergenerational knowledge, and community. Wild food harvesters demonstrated a deep connection to the environment, often practicing ethical harvest principles and engaging in stewardship behaviour, such as removing invasive species or cleaning up fishing sites. Both foragers and fishers derived several benefits from engaging in these activities, such as increased food sovereignty, cultural identity and expression, and wellbeing benefits from increased time spent in nature. However, both urban fishing and foraging were not valued as significant food sources; rather, wild foods are primarily perceived as supplements to harvesters' diets. This high-effort-to-low-reward ratio may be excluding certain populations from participating in urban wild food harvesting, particularly those who are food insecure. These findings encourage a deeper examination of the ways that urban blue and green spaces shape urban populations' experiences of food, identity, and environmental stewardship.
Stay tuned for the final results soon!
Findings highlight the importance of wild food harvesting for cultural heritage, intergenerational knowledge, and community. Wild food harvesters demonstrated a deep connection to the environment, often practicing ethical harvest principles and engaging in stewardship behaviour, such as removing invasive species or cleaning up fishing sites. Both foragers and fishers derived several benefits from engaging in these activities, such as increased food sovereignty, cultural identity and expression, and wellbeing benefits from increased time spent in nature. However, both urban fishing and foraging were not valued as significant food sources; rather, wild foods are primarily perceived as supplements to harvesters' diets. This high-effort-to-low-reward ratio may be excluding certain populations from participating in urban wild food harvesting, particularly those who are food insecure. These findings encourage a deeper examination of the ways that urban blue and green spaces shape urban populations' experiences of food, identity, and environmental stewardship.
Stay tuned for the final results soon!
Share stories on the water, maybe even open up to each other. And it’s [fishing] a door for that; it’s a vessel for deepening those relationships”
(Female Angler 2, July 2025).
I feel like I've reclaimed this. When my grandparents did it, they were often heckled for being weed eaters. People would yell out the windows at them, “weed eaters!”, and they were sort of mocked and made fun of for it, but yet they were getting a lot of nutrition from it. And they were poor immigrants at the time and needed… they would use that as a sustenance for their families, including the black walnuts, the hickory nuts, which we still go and pick” (Urban Forager 3, July 2025).
For more information, please contact Sarah Lavallée at [email protected]
