Hey everyone,

Stewardship season is almost here, and we couldn’t be more excited to get back out in the orchard with all of you! To help you plan ahead, check out our 2025 Stewardship Poster with all the important dates. Pop those dates into your calendar now so you don’t miss a thing. You can also download and print your copy here. Here are the dates:

• Sun, April 13, 2025 – First stewardship day! Shed and garden cleanup
• Sat, April 26, 2025 – Weeding in prep for mulching
• Sat, May 3, 2025 – All hands on deck! Compost mulching
• Sat, May 10, 2025 – Molasses 1, tree maintenance, weed garden/shed roof
• Sun, May 25, 2025 – Tree and garden care
• Sat, June 7, 2025 – Molasses 2, tree pruning, weeding
• Sun, June 22, 2025 – Tree and garden care, orchard soxs
• Sat, July 5, 2025 – Tree painting, weeding, deadheading
• Sun, July 13, 2025 – Molasses 3, weeding, deadheading
• Sat, July 26, 2025 – Tree and garden care
• Sat, August 9, 2025 – All hands on deck, wood chip mulching
• Sun, August 24, 2025 – Tree and garden maintenance
• Sat, September 6, 2025 – Tree and garden maintenance
• Sun, September 21, 2025 – Tree and garden maintenance
• Sat, October 4, 2025 – Tool sharpening, tree and garden maintenance
• Sun, October 19, 2025 – Shed cleanup/inventory, put garden to bed

This year, we might not be sending out reminder emails. We’re on the lookout for a volunteer to help with managing our emails. But for now, your calendar will be your best friend! Trust us, it’s going to be a great season and you’ll definitely want to be there.

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Our Virtual Apple Tasting 2024 was a wonderful success! All 50 tickets sold out, and attendees joined us for an unforgettable evening of apple exploration and learning.

Hosted by Susan Poizner, a volunteer from the Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard and the creator of the fruit tree care education website OrchardPeople.com, the event featured two incredible experts:

• Dr. Amy Bowen, Director of Consumer, Sensory & Market Insights at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, taught us how to evaluate apples like pros.

• Rachael LeBlanc, apple breeder and research scientist at Vineland, shared the fascinating process of developing new apple varieties.

We also had warm welcoming comments from Julia Girmenia of Not Far From the Tree, and from Toronto-St.Paul’s MPP Jill Andrews.

While the event was virtual, the apples were real and participants picked up this unique and curated collection on the Saturday before the event. Thank you to the Not Far From The Tree team who manned the table!

All the apples were packaged up in a snazzy Not Far From The Tree, reusable canvas bag.

During the zoom call we all tasted six exclusive, yet-to-be-released apple varieties provided by Vineland Research. The evening ended with a vote, and Apple #1 and Apple #2 were crowned the favourites! The event was both fun and informative, sparking lively conversations in the Zoom chat.

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It was our last official stewardship day at Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard, and the gang came out in full force. We spent the day sharpening and cleaning our tools. Over the years, we’ve gotten pretty skilled at tool sharpening, but this was the first time we sharpened our spades and shovels too! Shoutout to Sara for the awesome idea.

One of the most exciting parts of the day? Our brand-new Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard Volunteer T-shirts! They were donated by the Upper Village BIA, and they’re extra special. Not only do they have our orchard logo on the front and “VOLUNTEER” on the back, but they also feature the BIA logo on the sleeve and a QR code. The QR code links to a virtual neighborhood tour packed with history about both our orchard and the community. It’s a fun way for visitors to learn more about where they are.

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