We are ever grateful to all our volunteers and supporters, including POP plant donor Pamela Haines, who has generously donated hundreds of perennial flowers planted in POP orchards over the years! Chances are, if you see black-eyed susans or echinacea growing at a POP orchard site, it started its life at Pamela’s community garden. These perennial flowers attract pollinators and other beneficial insects, making them great companion plants to fruit trees. We asked Pamela to share her experience as a POP volunteer with us, please read below.
Did you have any experience with gardening/tree planting prior to volunteering with POP?
I’ve been a gardener all my life. We had a big vegetable garden when I was a child, I’ve been active in the Warrington Community Garden since the 1980’s, and I’ve supported many urban gardening initiatives here in Philadelphia over the years. Currently I’m active with Mill Creek Farm, a small urban farm in West Philadelphia. The board work is important, but what I love most is going out on a Saturday morning to weed and help harvest good healthy food for the neighborhood.
What has been your favorite aspect of volunteering with POP?
Volunteers like Pamela are essential to POP’s ability to plant and maintain orchards throughout Philadelphia. If you are interested in helping plant and maintain orchards in the city, please join our volunteer email list or visit our events page to sign up for an upcoming volunteer opportunity, where you can learn about planting, help your community, and connect with neighbors! If you have fruit trees, berry bushes, or other useful plants that you would like to donate to POP, please contact Phil Forsyth at phil@phillyorchards.org.
SUPPORT US! If you found this entry useful, informative, or inspiring, please consider a donation of any size to help POP in planting and supporting community orchards in Philadelphia: phillyorchards.org/donate.