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Building resilience through urban agriculture and foraging: individual, collective and public preparedness (BestPrepared)

Active Last updated: 14.03.2026
End: jan 2030
Start: jan 2026

Project participants

Wendy Fjellstad Frøydis Gillund Hilde Halland Oleksandra Deineko Einar Braathen Olena Muradyan Dmytro Boiko Helene Gallis Agnes Lyche Melvær Arild Eriksen Harald Mathæus Ledsaak-Dyresen
Status Active
Start - end date 31.01.2026 - 30.01.2030
Project manager Sebastian Eiter
How can we strengthen societal preparedness through urban agriculture and foraging? This is the overarching question that the BestPrepared project seeks to answer. Urban agriculture can build social cohesion among participants and, over shorter periods, also contribute to food security in cities, for example in a situation when transport options are limited. The project will explore strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for food and community preparedness in Norwegian cities. We will look at past and recent history to understand the role of urban agriculture and foraging in acute crises: World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway, as well as the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. In collaboration with the Museums in Akershus – responsible for the community garden at Linderud farm in Oslo and the allotment and school garden at Lørenskog Rural Museum – and with Holt Ecopark in Tromsø, we will establish "living laboratories" where we will plan and establish emergency gardens. The gardens will serve as arenas for learning and sharing knowledge among different groups of participants. The project aims to give participants greater awareness of food and community preparedness and practical skills in gardening, foraging and long-term conservation of food. It will also develop policy recommendations on how urban agriculture and foraging can be integrated into public emergency planning, helping to strengthen resilience and adaptability in times of crisis.

Publications in the project