[Tagging] Tagging for Foraging

[Joshua Carlson]

Hello, all.

I wondered if I could get some feedback on an idea. Several users were
discussing tagging `natural=tree` and similar features with information
relevant to foraging.

The most important issue, to me, is access. Access to a tree is not the
same as access to pick fruit from it. For instance, I may go up to, sit
under, and even hang a hammock from most of the trees in my local park. But
I've learned that picking fruit from the same trees, while not specifically
prohibited, is something the Parks people would prefer being asked about in
advance.

Right now, tagging `natural=plant + species=*` is more than enough to keep
track of plants of interest, but foragers in particular want to know: "will
anyone care if I harvest this?" I thought it might be useful to have a tag,
either `harvest:access=*` or `access:harvest=*` for this purpose. Is one
preferable to the other?

A second point, though less important, is seasonality. It was suggested
that perhaps seasonality can be computed based on location and species, and
so a specific tag is not needed. On the other hand, within even a single
species, the peak harvest season of a plant may vary by region. And
foraging is an in-person activity by definition, so users would be able to
validate such information in person, even per-plant, if desired. But I
acknowledge that if you're foraging, you probably don't need to be told
when it's "raspberry season".

And finally, is it worth the trouble of identifying the "harvestables" from
a plant? For instance, wood nettle stalks can be harvested when very small,
but as the plant ages, only the leaves are worth picking. A user on Discord
suggested using similar syntax to conditional restrictions:
`harvest:season=leaves
@ (May-Aug); fruit @ Jun`. This would handle both multiple harvestables as
well as seasonality.

But perhaps that's taking things too far. I'd love to hear other thoughts
on this topic, especially the access portion.

Thanks much!

-Josh Carlson
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/tagging/attachments/20210728/43d8a9f8/attachment.htm>