Paper short abstract:

We focus on the ‘unruly fruit trees’ of a Warsaw public park. The ‘unruly tree’ is a figure that forefronts the plant logic. We are interested in how local activists’ understand and practice biophilia and/or biophobia under the influence of the ‘unruly trees’ in this unique urban orchard.

Paper long abstract:

The framework of ecological services locks urban greenspaces in utilitarian rationality, which in itself can be seen as an impediment to green transitions. Among other limitations, it fosters a biophilic vision that does not leave space for an ‘unruly tree’ (Dean 2016). The latter is a figure that forefronts the plant logic.

In this paper we explore the case of park Owocowe Sady Żoliborskie in Warsaw, a unique fruit tree public park that transformed from allotment garden, through urban wilderness site into a managed urban greenspace in 1990. Historically and contemporarily the park provides apples, pears, and plums for local dwellers’ consumption. The park has witnessed an upsurge of local green activism focused on conserving its ‘fruit character’ in the last three years. The formalized and informal tree and flower planting practices as well as fruit picking and sharing practices unfold in the park.

Relying on the ethnographic fieldwork, we focus on the ‘unruly trees’ of the park. Are fruit trees a nuisance or an ecological benefit? How to manage the edibility of plants growing in urban greenspaces? Can relation with fruit trees help to overcome climate crisis as well as the crisis of urban alienation? The recent local green activism in Owocowe Sady Żoliborskie has evolved around these questions, with the audible overtones of neighbourly feud. In our paper we analyse the practices and meanings of both biophobia and biophilia triggered by the ‘unruly tree’ in this unique urban orchard.