Welcome to Toronto Community Orchard Website. Here you can find the most up to date information on Toronto's first community orchard in a public park and in our blog, get answers to your orchard questions in our Myths and Facts page, and even learn what's involved in establishing your own little orchard, whether it's in your backyard or in your local park, in our Orchards 101 page.
This initiative has been spearheaded by the eco-gardening group Growing For Green in partnership with the fruit harvesting project Not Far From The Tree . All the work will be done by volunteers, including irrigation, mulching, pruning, and harvesting and cleaning the orchard. Volunteers are also hard at work collecting and writing information for this website and planning activities and upcoming events.
On June 4, 2009, our little orchard was planted in Ben Nobleman Park, an underused green space just across from Eglinton West Subway station in Toronto. At the moment we have 9 fruit trees including 3 pears, 3 plums and 3 sweet cherries. Our goal is to plant a total of 14 fruit trees that will provide fruit for volunteers and local agencies, and to transform this little park into a vibrant hub for the community.
The orchard will be a place for the community to volunteer and socialize, to have blossom and fruit festivals, pruning workshops, orchard picnics, children's educational workshops and other community events. Growing for Green is also bringing the Sharing Backyards program to Toronto. For more information about that, click here.
If you'd like to join our mailing list to find out about volunteering opportunities and other updates about the orchard, send a blank email to communityorchard-subscribe@mylists.ca. And if you have any other questions or would like to volunteer with us, email growingforgreen@gmail.com.
For more detailed information about the orchard, click on the links below:
Why was Ben Nobleman Park chosen?
How was the community orchard designed?
What types of fruit have been planted in the orchard so far?
