R. A. Pic

Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Dean, Erin

Area of Concentration

Environmental Studies

Abstract

This thesis examines human implementation of agroforestry in the Delaware Valley and the potential of this agricultural and ecological process to influence natural disaster and climate event resilience as well as the preservation of community cohesion. I evaluate the role of agroforestry through combining research into historical agriculture and Delaware Valley ecology as well as five interviews conducted with three current agroforestry practitioners. Ecosystems that grow fruit and nut crops throughout urban, suburban, and rural communities of the Delaware Valley can address issues of crop diversity preservation, lack of community green spaces, food insecurity for community members, and natural disaster management. As changes in climate conditions continue to accumulate, an analysis of the Delaware Valley’s ecology reveals an ecosystem that readily supports trees, as opposed to tightly cropped rows of monoculture. Incorporating the natural inclinations of an ecosystem into agricultural practice leads to sustainable food production practices that increase community and climate resilience.

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