Two years ago, I read an article about the Urban Orchards being set up in Seattle. There have been many built around North America, but I was intrigued by the version described in the article. I wondered if our NA could support something like this, and how it would all come together.
Over the past two years, I have done a great deal of research, met many people doing agriculture work on City property, and talked to anyone I could about an Urban Orchard in our ‘hood. For the most part, I found everyone, including the City, to be very supportive of this idea. One of the most supportive was Adam Spencer, a local trained Horticulture Technician, who has agreed to help spearhead the project.
July 21st 7:00-8:30pm
Room 109 Breithaupt Centre
As I talked to people around the City, it was hard to distinguish what an Urban Orchard is, and how it differs from a Community Garden. An Urban Orchard is a planting of trees, fruit bearing shrubs, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and other native fruit bearing plants. This type of Urban Orchard is relatively self sufficient. Once a year, volunteers would need to prune back the previous years growth to encourage new growth, and weeds need to be kept at bay. That is about it. Community Gardens have much more administration and mainly benefit the people who manage their plots. An Urban Orchard benefits all who walk through it, is open for all to enjoy and anyone is welcome to "harvest".
In May of 2016, the MHBPNA, agreed to support this initiative, and our first meeting is set for July 21st 2016 from 7:00-8:30pm in Room 109 at the Breithaupt Centre. While we have lots of ideas of what we would like; ultimately, it will come down to the Urban Garden that the community wants to build, in the location the community wants.
If you cannot attend this meeting, please email us and we will keep you updated.
Lane Burman
CoChair MHBPNA
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