Chicago Gets Nation's First Public Orchard this Weekend
Thursday October 16, 2008
A non-profit group called the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF), in cooperation with the City of Chicago and Absolut Vodka, will plant a 24-tree orchard in Chicago's Kilbourn Park on Saturday, October 18. According to the FTPF, it will be the first public orchard in a major metropolitan city. The harvest will be "available to all."
There will be a special class from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on how to plant fruit trees (in case you urban folks don't know) followed by the actual planting. Each tree weighs approximately 4,000 pounds and will require a crane, so this is no lil' pumpkin patch. [UPDATE: The types of trees going in are cherries, plums, apples, pears and paw paws.]
I can't tell you how much I love this idea. I'm grateful for Millennium Park, but I don't want it to become the template for what our city parks should be. I go to Millennium Park to hear music, stroll by the sculptures, play putt-putt, rent a bike or have a meal. It's not the place I go for some restorative time with nature or to find some peace outdoors. Those of us who live in the city also need places where we can find that. I welcome this orchard as a counterbalance to Millennium Park. Even if it is only 24 trees.
For more information about this event, contact Rico Montenegro, FTPF Arborist, at 530-515-7657 or rico(at)ftpf(dot)org.
There will be a special class from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on how to plant fruit trees (in case you urban folks don't know) followed by the actual planting. Each tree weighs approximately 4,000 pounds and will require a crane, so this is no lil' pumpkin patch. [UPDATE: The types of trees going in are cherries, plums, apples, pears and paw paws.]
I can't tell you how much I love this idea. I'm grateful for Millennium Park, but I don't want it to become the template for what our city parks should be. I go to Millennium Park to hear music, stroll by the sculptures, play putt-putt, rent a bike or have a meal. It's not the place I go for some restorative time with nature or to find some peace outdoors. Those of us who live in the city also need places where we can find that. I welcome this orchard as a counterbalance to Millennium Park. Even if it is only 24 trees.
For more information about this event, contact Rico Montenegro, FTPF Arborist, at 530-515-7657 or rico(at)ftpf(dot)org.
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