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Help get an apple orchard planted in Chimborazo Park
Some folks at The Martin Agency have partnered with Enrichmond and Blue Bee Cider to launch a Kickstarter campaign to get an apple orchard planted in Chimborazo Park:
We are partnering with Enrichmond & Blue Bee Cider to create a community apple orchard right in Richmond in Chimborazo Park. But before we can plant the trees, we have to clear the land. That’s where the “kids” come in. Instead of using heavy equipment or chemicals to clear the land out, we want to use goats. Lots of goats. And I’ve seen them in action, they can tear some through shrubbery.
We are hoping to raise $5k by the end of our kickstarter campaign to pay for the goats, and we have some really cool prizes to go along with backing it.
So check it out (at least watch the video of Anne Feild reporting on “bad kids”) and help us get this thing funded!
TAGGED: Blue Bee Cider, Chimborazo Orchard, Chimborazo Park, Enrichmond, goats, Martin Agency, trees
Didn’t an orchard get planted last year by Richmond Tree Stewards and other folks down by the dog park? That’s a rhetorical question because I know it happened, but am wondering if they connect in any way.
Alli – I can answer that… in early spring of 2012, I and other Church Hill Tree Stewards got permission from Richmond Parks to plant an orchard. We received funding from Altria via Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. During project development we heard rumors that “someone else” had the same idea of planting fruit trees on the vacant land in the lower Chimbo Park.
That someone else was Courtney Mailey with Blue Bee. She had approached John Sydnor (Enrichmond) to help in her plans. I suggested we all get together and walk lower Chimbo to see how our projects might fit together and support each other.
We all saw the problem of Kudzo on the flat area beyond the dog parks where Courtney wants to plant special varieties of apples. I take a small bow here as I remember suggesting the use of goats to eat and pull up the Kudzo and poison ivy, etc.
So,Tree Stewards orchard of native fruit and nut trees was planted fall of 2012 and was supplemented by Riverine Master Naturalist who planted berries and fruit vines. 2013 has been spent maintaining the plants and staring over at the hugh Kudzo field wondering if apples would ever fruit there.
I am very pleased to hear that the Apple Orchard Project is still on. At this moment there is no official connection between the two projects but I’ll bet that Blue Bee/Enrichmond/Martin Agency’s project will be easily funded and will also find willing and experienced tree planters when needed.
I posted this comment on Facebook, but figured x-posting it wouldn’t hurt:
This is adorable, and I totally support using goats to clear the land. However, I hope they continue to use environmentally friendly solutions and don’t turn to common pesticides to “help” the trees grow. It would be awesome to see them using natural pesticides and fungicides like neem, fish fertilizer, compost, horsetail and stinging nettle… (for further reading on growing apples without pesticides:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/garden/growing-apples-without-pesticides.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0)
It’s a little disheartening to see that the Extension service is being brought in as the tree stewards, since most of their work focuses on chemical farming and the use of inorganic “modern” technology to raise plants and animals. I’m just sayin’ it’d be a huge shame if we were granted an amazing urban orchard, only to find that it’s poisoning the soil in Chimborazo park and producing unhealthy, chemical laden fruits. It would be SO cool to see the city of Richmond, and small, local businesses like the Martin Agency and Blue Bee Cider support natural and organic growing practices that would keep the soil healthy!
Last I heard, this orchard was to be run by a local cidery and be a FOR PROFIT venture. So, this probably needs to be discussed at some level.
Why are we using public lands for a FOR PROFIT orchard? What right do people have to use public parks for profit?
What a great project and a creative way to use the steep slopes of the parks. Cultivated orchards and vineyards, even if leased to commercial enterprises, would be better on the steep slopes of Hill parks than kudzu and weeds.
And what about all the little creatures that call the kudzu hill home? where should they go?
The little creatures can go live in the apple trees. More importantly, where will all the apples go? Will this be a public orchard or for profit venture? I hope Richmond will finally have a public, volunteer-maintained orchard where people can pick fruit for free!
So far, NOTHING on any website or description I have read has said anything about “profit”. In fact, it seems to indicate this would be a PUBLIC orchard. Plus, Blue Bee couldn’t profit from this orchard for a long time as it takes a while for trees to mature.
Why can’t we have anything nice?
Can the goats clear the hills of Libby Park?
Blue Bee Cider will be donating heirloom variety apple trees to support this project. We will also be engaged in educational elements of the project to a certain degree. Apples grown in public orchards will not be bought or sold by Blue Bee Cider or any other profit-generating entity. We are principally interested in rediscovering which varieties can thrive in our humid, disease and insect pressured climate without taking extraordinary measures to do so. Richmond once had a thriving orcharding past that did not survive Prohibition. So we must re-learn what was once common knowledge.
^ THIS ^ Thanks for your input! 🙂
@Courtney. Growing an orchard is very labor intensive and requires extensive resources. Here are some questions:
1) How do you plan on watering the trees and not disrupting the quiet nature of the park?
2) How will you ensure that other entities who want to use the park (dog walkers, Sports Backers, bicycle racers, etc.) will continue to be able to use the park without interuption?
3) Are you planning on having trucks go in and out of the park down to the kudzo field (carrying water, workers, etc.)? Will that not curtail others from enjoying the quiet solitude of the park?
Thank you.
Sara, Richmond Tree Stewards are not part of the extension service. There are other tree steward groups in other parts of Virginia that are Master Gardeners first but the Richmond Tree Steward program is open to anyone in the community. Check us out at http://richmondtreestewards.org/.
SO thankful for everyone’s support on this great project for Richmond- but especially Church Hill.
Thank you Courtney! Blue Bee has been a great partner from the start as this project began to take shape out of our Earth Day Richmond- Community Impact Project process. This will be Enrichmond’s 21st Earth Day Richmond event and our second in historic 17th Street Farmers’ Market on April 26th, 2014 from 11am-5pm.
UP- Your questions are appreciated.
Our choice of the site took almost 5 months. After soil samples, pomology expert visits, Tree Stewards input (a long time partner of the Enrichmond Foundation), DPRCF assistance, and Friends of Chimborazo Park (FoCP- another long time partner of the Foundation) approval, we selected Chimbo.
1) Our watering will be done through several methods- and none will disturb the quite nature of the park. These will include rain catchment barrels, the spring that runs underneath, even the City water in the park.
2) All volunteer opportunities- the main traffic generator and possible congestion- will be scheduled to avoid peak usage. In addition, the average amount of volunteers will be low. I’m thinking 10-15 folks. Nothing that the current parking near the dog park or up on the hill near the park house can’t handle. Our school bus visits from Chimborazo and Bellmeade Elementary (to start with) will be coordinated with FoCP.
3) The only trucks to come to the park will be pickup trucks with trailors- nothing larger than typical landscaping vehicles. This will occur with the delivery of the goats (1 weekend in the winter and one weekend in the Spring) and the delivery of the trees donated by Blue Bee (Spring).
Please dont hesitate to send us questions or comments. We are thrilled to start our Kickstarter campaign with the Martin Agency in order to make this project a reality.
The berry shrubs on the slope below the octagon house seem to have mostly disappeared–there was a long row of them at one point. There are some remaining trees along the mowed path on the slope above the dog park parking lot, but some of those little trees seem to have disappeared by mowing or overtaking by the weeds. There are some trees on the flat part of the lower part, where the border collies run (beyond the parking area but not as far as the kudzu). What happened to the trees and shrubs that were already planted? Do the mowers realize they shouldn’t mow small trees? Perhaps a more formal bosque would be more obvious and better protected.
Thank you Courtney and John for the information and to all of the people who got this project in the works! This is awesome. Can we implement a similar plan elsewhere in the city too?
This sounds like an awesome project! Thanks for choosing Churchill for your endeavor!
@20 Juliellen, I hope your questions get answered. Unfortunately I cannot answer as I do not frequent that area at present, but I do remember a bunch of excitement being generated about planting, so it is a shame that the stuff has disappeared.
Blue Bee Cider – Thank you for choosing Church Hill and Chimborazo Park!
@John Snyder. Don’t you think before you carve a public park into little fiefdoms you should actually run it by the stakeholders? You know, the people who use the park and pay high city taxes?
The point is not whether this will look “pretty” or if Blue Bee Cider is a good company. The point is what right do you have to give public park land away to others? You say that you have talked to Friends of Chimborazo. You know very well that means you ran this by 1 person.
It’s time for Enrichmond to meet with people who actually use the park and let us know what your plans are, what your future plans are for our neighborhood park and to give us a say in the planning process.
@25 Given that Chimbo Park seems to need some love these days (tall weeds, poor mowing, sketchy people milling about) I can’t help but think this project will only improve the park.
It’s not about “fiefdoms”, I think it’s about a partnership between private and non profit community organizations and the City Parks department to make something amazing. The City clearly has trouble keeping up with park maintenance and perhaps this partnership could serve as a model for future park improvements.
Basically, take your pick: a neglected hill full of overgrown kudzu OR a well planned, well cared for community orchard. I know what I want! 🙂
I am not sure why everyone seems to believe that a mowed and manicured park is beautiful and nature on its own is not. Contrary to many opinions, none of the space in lower Chimbo park is not being used. There are many animals that call the space home and the dogs love to go into the kudzu field. I have been hearing rumors that the “empty fields” are unused and should be planted as well. These fields are used by cyclists, joggers and dogs with their guardians. Upper Chimbo is pretty well manicured and it still attracts sketchy people so I don’t think that the “natural” look is what is causing the problem. I don’t know why there is such hatred for a space to remain in a more natural state. Why can’t we leave lower Chimbo alone for the people who want a piece of nature in an urban setting and you can manicure and maintain and do whatever you like with Upper Chimbo. I and many others would prefer a “neglected hill full of overgrown kudzu”.
Goats to help create East End orchard
http://www.timesdispatch.com/local/city-of-richmond/goats-to-help-create-east-end-orchard/article_cfc0e475-7385-585e-bafe-12a65a8a3890.html
@prairiegirl, kudzu is an invasive species, and arguably the worst because it kills everything. Advocating for kudzu is like advocating for DDT.
I would second the point made in comment 27–namely that Lower Chimborazo is NOT unused. To the contrary, it’s used daily by runners, cyclists, and particularly dog owners, like myself, who value an open, but naturally protected space to exercise their animals. Urban spaces that provide this opportunity are as rare as heirloom apples. It’s true there is a “corral” nearby that dogs can be turned out in, but the experience is not the same. I hope a dialogue can be opened between the advocates for the apple project (which seems, on the face of it, like a worthy proposal), and the advocates for dogs, so that those who have long enjoyed the lower park can continue to do so alongside those who have newer plans for the space.
A follow up question: What happened to all the trees and shrubs planted by Church Hill Tree Stewards? It seems as if 80 or 90% of the plantings are dead.
@31, you are asking the same question that came up @20, and that I echoed @23. Seems like no one is either able to answer, or cares to answer. I’ll give Sydnor a break in that he did say he was out of town for the holiday, but it would be nice to find out what happened. I seem to recall quite a bit of trees and shrubs were planted. What happened???
I don’t think it can be blamed primarily on mowing, as most of the dead trees were still protected by the tubes they were planted in.