Partnership is at the heart of what we do. At the end of the day, we work to nurture relationships between people and nature. 

This year, we welcomed two new orchards into the POP family: Penn Treaty Park and Viola Street Community Garden. It’s a family, because there’s no expiry date on our partnerships, and we hope that the fruits of these relationships will provide for generations.

Penn Treaty Park, also known as Shackamaxon, is a place of history and legend, the site where William Penn and Tamanend signed a peace treaty.  Native fruit and nut trees were planted in the Spring and a pollinator garden was installed in the Fall to welcome visitors to the site.

Viola Street Community Garden was founded almost 50 years ago and is one of the city’s oldest living community gardens. An adjoining formerly vacant lot was planted with figs, cherries, a berry garden and a pollinator garden.  

Each year, we ask our partners to reflect on the season, to share stories about what their orchard means to the community. Read below to get a small glimpse into the magic moments happening all over the city.

“Multiple people will stop and tell us how important the trees and the green spaces are to their daily well being. The orchard brings together people from across many different cultures. Food is a universal language.” — Barbara Hague, South Philadelphia High School Community Orchard

“I had a family come and try an apple from the tree and say it was the best experience and they never knew they could just reach up and grab an apple and eat it.” — Carly Freedman, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Karabots Center

“We hosted a number of events throughout our season, and our orchard is our gathering space. From our Seed to Supper gardening class, our Summer Chef Series, and our weekly field trips with school groups — the canopy of trees offers a safe and beautiful space for us to gather, share food, knowledge and each other’s company.” — Ellie Kaplan, Nice Roots Farm (Share Food Program)

“Our fig tree is a focal point of the orchard and attracts volunteers and community members who wouldn’t normally visit the garden.The anticipation of the fresh figs brings folks together to help harvest and share the fruit. It’s a joy to see people — young and old — trying their first ever fig. We not only share the figs with community members who visit the orchard but we also distribute them to community fridges in the surrounding neighborhood.” Nicole Friant Stewart, Universal Baptist Church Garden of Eden

“During one of our school visits this year, a group of students walked into the orchard and immediately lit up with curiosity. As we talked about how a food forest works — trees, shrubs, herbs, and pollinators all supporting one another — they began to see the space not just as a garden, but as a living neighborhood within their neighborhood.

What touched me most was the moment they realized that the figs, berries, and herbs growing around them were meant for everyone — that this abundance belonged to the community. They asked thoughtful questions about how the plants protect each other, how they feed the soil, and how people can help them thrive in return.

One student said, “It’s like the plants are taking care of us, so we should take care of them too.” That simple understanding — of reciprocity, belonging, and stewardship — captured exactly why this orchard matters.

Seeing young people connect with nature in such a deep way reminded us how vital this space is: a place where kids learn not just about food, but about community, responsibility, and hope.” — Neury Caba, Historic Fair Hill

“A family visiting the park stumbled upon the food forest (they were visiting the playground), and came over curious about the trees and the garden. I invited them to taste the pears with fresh mint from our herb bed (a combo a visiting farmer taught us) and their awe/delight was immediate. The kids said how sweet and fresh the combo was, wondered out loud about other potential combos and the adults said the beauty and abundance drew them in. 

That day turned into an impromptu lesson on permaculture and food forests, showing them how the trees, shrubs, and groundcovers work together to create a healthy ecosystem. This happened regularly (people coming by randomly seeing us while doing something else in the park and wanting to learn more). Some of those children later joined our free summer camp where they learned to care for the plants, harvest produce, and even compost scraps back into the soil. 

Watching neighbors connect with the land, taste fresh food, and see the food forest as a community gathering space is so special. It’s not just for food production, but for education, environmental stewardship, and building lasting neighborhood connections. We are a park village community and the food forest is the heart of it all.” — Mekia Elizabeth, Fernhill Food Forest

“Children walking home from school were amazed that they could pull pears directly front the trees planted near the sidewalk” — Jessica Allen, West Philly Peace Park

“One evening this fall, our Lead Orchard Volunteer and I were harvesting Asian pears, which was probably an unexpected sight to see at a busy intersection like ours. A couple folks walking by were intrigued and ended up helping out with the harvest and taking some pears home. They were really excited to learn about fruits and vegetables growing right here in their own city. — Floey Zhao, Walnut Hill Community Farm (Greener Partners)

“We recently had our second Fall Festival in our space. The festival celebrates the arrival of the fall season and the neighborhood. The garden partners with various organizations to distribute helpful information to the revelers as they enjoy music, food, produce from the garden and entertainment in our unique garden/ park/meditation space.” — DeNece Dugan, CommUnity Garden @ The Creek

“Our orchard is open to the neighborhood to come at any time and pick what they wish. It is very gratifying to see individuals and families enjoying the fruits and also enjoying the serenity of the orchard they sometimes cannot find in their urban setting.” — Eldredge Ragsdale, Historic Strawberry Mansion

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.