Donation to Windsor/Essex County Community Garden Collective fruit tree project
Posted: October 29, 2014
Categories: Events / GoodFoodBites / News from Sustain Members
Windsor/Essex County Community Garden Collective tree-planting. Photo: Steve Green.
Yesterday, Sustain Ontario member Windsor/Essex County Community Garden Collective (WECGC) celebrated a donation from Caesars Windsor Hotel and Casino in support of fruit and nut trees for the Collective’s community gardens. Their newly purchased trees are being planted this season at participating community gardens throughout the Windsor/Essex County region. This project aligns with the goals of Food Matters Windsor Essex County, which recently launched a regional Good Food Charter.
“The WECCGC is extremely grateful for the investment into the future of our community gardens. This kind of community partnership shows how a local organization can have a long term effect in its community. The investment into these fruit trees will touch the lives of children and adults for many years to come. It teaches them about pollination, urban agriculture, and biodiversity in the ecosystem,” says Steve Green, Network Coordinator, WECCGC. “It answers questions such as, ‘Where does my food come from, how does an apple grow, and how long does it take to grow a pear tree?’ We look forward to future projects that can expand the role of community gardens across Windsor and Essex County. Initiatives such as these fit in well with our local food charter goals,” he added.
Community Garden tree-planting event at Unemployed Help Centre in Windsor, October 28, 2014. Photo: Steve Green.
Fruit trees are well suited to the urban environment as they can be trained or grown on dwarfing rootstocks to fit into small spaces. Once the trees settle in, they require very little maintenance compared to annual vegetables, making them well-suited for community gardens. Some of the WECCGC’s orchards are in public parks, some in neighbourhood community gardens.
If you live in the region and are interested in seeing how the trees are getting along, volunteering – or possibly even helping yourself to some fruit in the future – visit wegarden.ca to learn more about the Collective’s community garden and urban orchard project as it grows!