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Augmented Foraging
Combining the ancient skills of foragers with the newest mobile media.
A mobile phone guide to edible urban wild-food sources. Created in first instance for Amsterdam urban_edibles as an app for Android phones. First test version available here: Boskoi
We have chosen Boskoi as a name for the mobile app because it translates as 'grazer' or 'browser' from the Greek 'βοσκοί'.
Functionalities (being implemented):
- Showing edible or useful wildfood sources in your area.
- Displaying direction and distance to plant.
- Providing info on edible parts of the plant.
- Enabling anyone (with gps on mobile) to upload new entries to the database.
- Providing links to expert knowledge (botanical, herbal, culinary, ecological)
- Report 'bad link'; if plant/source is no longer there.
Possible extras:
- Offering harvesting alerts.
- Report waste dumping (separate waste-map?)
- Mushroom determination.
- Join local foragers.
- Apply to become an editor.
- Add protected or endangered species without revealing exact location.
- Adopt a stressed wild plant (using companion planting?)
- Join local adoption group (game with points awarded?)
Some screenshots of the first demo.
We hope this pilot can perhaps sprout other ecosytem-apps.
App. architecture:
content:
- Are new entries checked by an editor?
- Are new entries first on a preliminary map?
- Can we simply copy-paste content? For instance: is there a standard dataset for hazelnuts that does not have to be updated later? So if a new recipe is found for hazelnuts, we don't have to add it to all entries individually? > A standard link should probably go to a page of recipes. And on this page you can add recipes at any time.
- Can bio-students do plant-determination as editors?
- If the user identifies the plant and names the new entry, can the dataset for that plant be added automatically?
Example of dataset:
E:Wild apple tree.
N: Wilde appelboom.
L: Malus sylvestris
Wikipedia Link
Small picture.
Description: 2 bomen met kleine pezikleurige appeltjes, rijp in september
Recipe: appelcider….
Somewhat related apps:
- pollution maps > http://www.appcraver.com/pollution/
- Dutch butterfly guide > http://vlindergids.natuurlijkwild.nl/
- more green apps
a part of project groworld and category gardens