Calgary has a LOT of
fruit trees, but many of them are not harvested. Calgary also has a lot of apple, pear, saskatoon, cherry and raspberry eaters. But much of this fruit comes from far-off places like New Zealand. This is the context in which the Calgary Urban Harvest Project was created. Check out the website at www.calgaryharvest.com. We started this project in the fall of 2009 after noticing just how much fruit, especially crabapple, goes unused while carbon emissions increase as we import our food.
On a snowy mid-October day, 5 brave volunteers climbed ladders with buckets in hand under a single registered apple tree in Crescent Heights. But this small start was enough to seed what is going to be a giant harvest this year! Take a look below... this is a map of all the currently registered properties with fruit trees (most of this locations have 2 or three trees!).
We are currently estimating approximately 4000 pounds of fruit available on these registered trees!
Last year, to get the project started, I rode around on my bike peering into people's backyards looking for fruit trees. When I spotted one, I placed a little card into that homeowner's mailbox, offering instructions on how to participate in the project if so they chose. With over 70 of such cards passed out, I only got one response! What a failure! But with optimism in mind, I rounded up a bunch of friends and headed to our single tree and picked away in the snow. But this was enough to catch the attention of the Calgary Herald, who covered the story (see it here).
This article led to a surge of registrants offering their fruit trees to the project, including apples, crabapples, pears and even an apricot tree!
Here's what we plan to do with the harvest: one-third of it goes to the hard-working volunteers who donate their time picking the fruit. A second third goes to the homeowners who's properties contain the fruit trees. Finally, the last third goes into selling the fruit directly as well as value-adding it into juice and other goodies. Proceeds from the project are funneled back in to keep it going (so that it will not need to rely on grants).
What we need most right now is volunteers! With such a large number of fruit trees registered so far, we are going to need a huge number of volunteers to help with the picking! Based on the varying ripening dates of the registered trees, several different picking dates will be chosen in the late summer and early fall. Each picking date will last about 6 hours on weekend, and volunteers are welcome to chose their levels of commitment. The benefits are numerous: not only will volunteers get access to local fruit, they will also have a fun day in the sun, meet new people, and partake in a fun festival at the end of the picking season!
Register your tree today at www.calgaryharvest.com or become a volunteer today!
