Food foraging threat to parks

FANS of foraged food, from mushrooms to sweet chestnuts, have been warned that they are damaging parks.

The number of incidents of foraging, which is banned in London’s royal parks, is up 600 per cent in a year.

The Royal Parks charity, which manages the capital’s green spaces, says foraging is depleting food sources for wildlife and could damage natural diversity.

Of particular concern are sweet chestnuts being taken from Richmond and Bushy Parks in southwest London. They are a vital food for the herds of deer in the parks.

after the breeding season, exhausted and lean deer gorge on the harvest of chestnuts and conkers to put on weight for winter.

October and November are peak time for mushrooms, which can provide important food and a habitat for many bugs.

Picking mushrooms, which are the fruit of underground fungi, can hinder reproduction and harm their ability to thrive.

That has knock- on effects for wider wildlife as fungi help dead plants decompose and recycle the nutrients so they are available for living plants – particularly important in nutrient-poor soil habitats.

Julia Balfour, head of ecology for The Royal Parks charity, said: ‘Many people enjoy foraging in hedgerows and woodland at this time of year, but please don’t extend this to our parks.’