Life Lessons Through Orcharding
Contributed by Erica Kratofil, MSW, Co-Executive Director of The Giving Grove National Network
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Many years ago, we spent the morning of my daughter’s first birthday at a berry patch with friends. She toddled among the bushes, her tiny fingers plucking juicy blueberries and delivering them straight into her mouth. Her 3-year-old sister led the way, filling a basket with plump berries to take home for the birthday meal.
As we explored, we discussed how those berries came to be, nurtured by sun, soil, water and people who steward the land. We shooed away mosquitoes while we talked about pollinators that support plants and helpful insects that ward off pests. We imagined the many earthworms toiling beneath our feet, doing their share to sustain the plants and, in turn, each of us.
Now teenagers, my daughters and their two younger brothers have contributed many volunteer hours in community orchards. They’ve passed cool spring mornings thinning fruit and hot summer days weeding and watering. They’ve spent warm autumn afternoons mastering pole pickers or orchard ladders, harvesting fruit from the highest branches.
Teen standing next to newly planted pear tree.
Child harvests Asian pear for food bank.
Today, we discuss the science of the trees in more complex ways than we did during the birthday outing at the berry patch. We talk about the reasons for thinning fruit and why we can’t plant an apple seed and expect it to grow the same variety. We note the graft union on a tree, discussing the way rootstock and scion wood work together.
They understand now that there’s more than earthworms beneath our feet. They express wonder over the vast network of fungi and how trees use it to communicate and share resources. They’ve learned about soil tests and amendments, and about blueberries requiring a different pH level than other plants in the orchard.
“Our conversations go deeper as they note aloud that some neighborhoods have so many grocery stores while others have so few – or none at all. They see the difference in tree canopy from one neighborhood to the next and understand how those discrepancies connect to demographics and a history of injustice. ”
They see challenges that they couldn’t grasp when they harvested their first blueberries. But they also know how to be part of the remedy. They have each planted trees and are eager to check on them any time we pass a site they’ve helped install. They know all the blessings the trees bring for the community, not only in fresh, healthy food but in cleaner air, refreshing shade and improved mental health.
Sometimes they bring friends to volunteer at an orchard. I overhear them showing their friends how to identify a ripe pear or introducing a less common fruit, like a jujube. As I listen, I am grateful for this added gift of the orchards – the opportunity to share, to inspire wonder, and to connect with one another in nature.
These experiences resonate with the oldest sister, who is heading to college soon.
“One of the biggest lessons I learned from little orchards is the power of community,” she shares. “When I attend a Giving Grove planting, or stop in mid-harvest to say hi, I get the privilege of connecting with the welcoming network of orchard stewards. While local neighborhoods contribute to the growth of the trees, the trees foster community within the neighborhoods. As I move off to college and into my future career, I will always remember the importance of community and how much we can accomplish when we work together toward a common goal.”
There are more than 500 orchards in The Giving Grove’s national network. To learn more about volunteer opportunities at an orchard near you, or about bringing a Giving Grove orchard to your neighborhood, contact your local Giving Grove affiliate partner. If your city does not yet have a Giving Grove program, learn more here about the process of joining The Giving Grove network.