What happens when you mix great people, a little sunshine, and a shared love of trees? A magical first Stewardship Day! From weeding and prepping tree circles to pruning and learning together, this community continues to inspire. We’d love for you to be part of it!

There’s something about the first Stewardship Day of the season that feels a little like waking up after a long winter nap. The trees are just starting to stir, the air is still crisp, but there’s a buzz of excitement—and at Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard, we felt it big time this past weekend!

We had an amazing turnout, with volunteers who were energized, cheerful, and ready to get their hands dirty. Our top mission? Prepping the mulch circles around our fruit trees. Everyone jumped in, weeding and refining the circles with love and care. In just a few weeks, we’ll be laying down a cozy two-inch layer of compost. That compost will slowly break down, thanks to all the hardworking soil organisms beneath the surface, feeding the trees just in time for summer growth. It’s kind of like setting the table for a big spring feast—except the guests are apple trees and sour cherries!

A big part of the day’s work revolved around those mulch circles, but that wasn’t all.

This Stewardship Day was also a special milestone because we welcomed two new members to our official pruning team—Carolyn and Eleanor, both recent graduates of the Certificate in Fruit Tree Care course from OrchardPeople.com! These two were raring to go, and together with Susan, they tackled a bunch of much-needed pruning jobs.

They worked like pros—hand pruners, loppers, sterilizing tools between trees—and yes, they both handled a Silky handsaw like champs. It was such a joy to see them confidently sawing through thicker branches and making thoughtful pruning decisions. Together, they pruned a young sour cherry tree, a native mulberry, and one of our Romeo-series cherry shrubs. Then, they joined Susan for the more delicate work: cleaning up two of our apricot trees that had been struggling with bacterial canker.

Last year, those apricots were oozing and looking very poorly, and we were worried we might have to say goodbye. Summer pruning didn’t help much (in fact, it might have given the pathogen time to spread). So this year, we’re trying something new: removing the diseased branches early in the season, with the hope that what’s left is healthy enough to heal and thrive. Fingers crossed we can save them!

So a big welcome and congratulations to Carolyn and Eleanor! We joked that “the girls” did everything, and honestly, they kind of did. And we’re so thrilled to have them as part of the team.

Thanks to everyone who came out. What a great start to the season! If you want to join us, please send us an email at growingforgreen (at) orchardpeople.com and Giselle will get back to you to tell you how to get involved!

P.S. I snapped a few photos of our pruning crew in action (you’ll spot Susan, Eleanor, and Carolyn hard at work!), but I completely forgot to get pictures of our amazing mulch circle and weeding teams. So next time you’re in the park and something beautiful is happening—whether it’s a volunteer moment, a blooming tree, or even a happy worm—snap a photo and share it with us! The orchard is a shared space, and so is telling its story. With your help, we can feature even more of the magic in next month’s blog!

Susan Poizner is one of the volunteers for The Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard in Toronto. She is the creator of the fruit tree care education website OrchardPeople.com.  Susan is the author of four fruit tree care books including Grow Fruit Trees Fast: A Beginner’s Guide to a Healthy Harvest in Record Time. She is also the host of the Orchard People podcast and an ISA Certified Arborist.