Lou, Janina and Liam painting an apricot tree in Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard

Saturday June 9th was tree painting day. A team of energetic volunteers painted all of our lovely fruit trees to protect them from the sun, and prevent insects from climbing up to munch their juicy leaves. Two local children, Liam and Lou, frequent park visitors, but first-time painters, volunteered to help. After making a 1:1 mixture of water and white latex indoor paint (water-based), we started on the apricots. Keeping an eye out for any invasive gypsy moth caterpillars, we painted the trunks, making sure to cover all the cracks. Liam and Lou painted so well that I had to make sure my own painting was up to the same standards.

A tree guard covered in gypsy moth caterpillars

I was pleased not many sneaky gypsy moth caterpillars were found on the apricots, cherries, and plums. However, I was quite surprised to find clusters of the invasive caterpillars hiding behind the tree guards accidentally left on after the winter. The tree guards provided the perfect shelter for the caterpillars, keeping them warm and out of sight from the nearby redwing blackbirds. Despite my reservations, I teamed up with Susan to squish the caterpillars, and now the apple trees are (mostly) caterpillar free.

Noticing how parched all the trees looked, Susan and Alex decided to water them. Unbeknownst to Susan, a local ant colony had taken up residence in the irrigation pop-up. After opening the pop-up, the ants assumed the worst and hurriedly moved their eggs out of the depression in the ground. What a commotion! Thankfully the ants did not impact the irrigation connection; it was quite a dramatic introduction to some of the hidden residents of Ben Nobleman.

Lynn takes a break from weeding in the pollinator garden in Ben Nobleman Community Orchard

In preparation for mulching on Saturday June 16th, Giselle, Ruth, Gail, Alex, Susan, and I weeded around the trees. Alex, Susan, Liam, and Hugues cut new edges around the trees to accommodate their expanding canopy, and to protect the trees from the City of Toronto weed whips.

Marilyn supervising the pollinator garden in Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard

Beautifying the pollinator garden were Sherry, Lynn, Marilyn, Gail, and Alex, who all did an awesome job.

I am looking forward to mulching the trees next week, and giving them their yearly meal. I invite you all to come to Ben Nobleman and join some lighthearted people for some heavy lifting!

 Janina Kowalski is a PhD student in Human Geography at the University of Toronto, researching urban food forests. She is a volunteer at the Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard, and loves all things to do with trees!