This newsletter was originally posted to POP’s email list on August 12, 2019.
2019 has been a big year for the Philadelphia Orchard Project and we thank each and every one of you for supporting us in our mission to create a more beautiful, bountiful Philadelphia.
Highlights from our Spring Season
– Planted our 1,316th fruit tree and supported our 64th community orchard site
– Involved over 600 volunteers and 1,300 total participants at orchard plantings, workshops, work days, harvests, school lessons, 2nd annual Fig Fest and 11th annual East Park Strawberry Fest!
– Assisted with brand new orchard plantings at Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center, Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House, and The Woodlands
– Received new support from the Arbor Day Foundation, Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation, Newman’s Own Foundation, and Trust for Public Land
We hope you will take a few minutes to read below about what POP’s been up to, as well as some of the interesting people and stories we’ve encountered along the way.And please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to see what we’re up to!
Upcoming Events
Get tickets now for POP’s 4th annual Orchard Dinner!
| UPCOMING ORCHARD WORK DAYS! |
| POP and our community partners are always in need of volunteers to help us with orchard care throughout the season. Sign up to help at orchards across the city today. |
| POP EVENTS INFO & REGISTRATION |
POPHarvestEd workshop 8/28: Mint StoryTelling & Harvest!
Join Megan Haupt, food educator, anthropologist and founder of hungry for The Many Stories & Flavors of Mint as part of POP’s HarvestEd series. This presentation will cover the power of a well-told story, the effects of storytelling on the brain, why storytelling for plants is important, mint’s early mythology and current interpretation. Group work will brainstorm ways to tell mint’s story by its characteristics, healing purposes, culinary use and more. We will harvest mint together as a group and then make a mint dessert sauce to be served and enjoyed with a chocolate avocado mousse! Sliding scale pricing for all.
Save the Date: Philadelphia Orchard Week
Save the dates for POP’s 9th annual Philadelphia Orchard Week in October with events across the city, including harvest festivals at Awbury Arboretum (10/12), Woodford Mansion (10/19) and Bartram’s Garden (10/20)!
Not only does it look snazzy, it is now easier to navigate through information about our programs, events, blog posts, and POP resources on orchard care, harvest & recipe tips, lesson plans, and more! Thanks to Impact100, Claneil Foundation, and other supporters for making this much needed upgrade possible.
2019 POP Program Updates
Orchard Planting and Support
POP’s core work of planting and supporting community orchards in the city continues to grow, and we are now working with 64 different orchard sites in neighborhoods across the city! 445 volunteers joined with us and our partners at 77 orchard pruning, planting, and maintenance events from January to June.
Brand new orchards were planted with Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center, Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House, and The Woodlands. In all, 41 new fruit and nut trees, 113 berries and vines, and 1,134 perennial flowers and herbs were planted this season! What’s more, through a grant from Keep America Beautiful, POP gave away another 48 fruit and nut trees to POP partners, community gardeners, and city residents.
To learn more about our orchard partners and view a map of POP sites:
POP ORCHARD MAP & LIST
Orchard Education
POP continues to educate our orchard partners through diverse offerings including orchard care workshops, consulting visits by POP staff, POP TIPS shared through the Philadelphia Orchard Group (PHOG), and the Philadelphia Orchard Project Blog. This year we released a series of Bi-lingual Spanish/English Rainbow Nutrition and Recipe Cards that were created to share nutritional, harvest, storage, and preparation info with partners. They’re downloadable for use here and will soon be available for sale at our tabling events for use in the classroom or community!
This season’s educational programs have also included POP CORE 2: a hands-on pest & disease treatment strategies, scheduled food forest tours, and workshops on pollinator-friendly seed ball making, in addition to POPHarvest Ed (see below). Check our blog for a series of new posts on pollinators and more fun topics!
MORE ABOUT ORCHARD EDUCATION
School Orchard Program
We’ve had some notable program developments this season in POP’s School Orchard Program with expanded offerings and reach. Since January, we’ve taught 28 lessons at 8 sites, making 310 student impressions; a 67% increase year-on-year in students served! Click below to read more about POP’s School Orchard Program and new downloadable educational materials.
MORE ABOUT SCHOOL ORCHARD PROGRAM
POPHarvest and POPHarvestEd Updates
So far this year, POPHarvest has included group gleanings of cherries, juneberries, mulberries, and wineberries. In our POPHarvestEd series, where community teachers lead gleaning workshops focused on sharing cultural, culinary, and medicinal uses of lesser known fruits, nuts, and herbs, we’ve offered a Japanese Knotweed Harvest Class with Jeannie Gerth, Caribbean Heritage Cooking with Thyme led by Nyambi Royster.
MORE ABOUT POPHARVEST/ED
Keep POP Growing Strong!
Individual Donations: The Philadelphia Orchard Project is deeply grateful to each and every one of our generous donors and the support of our community. To make a donation simply click below and fill out the online form to make your one-time or monthly gift.
Support POP!