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Shortly after EarthWorks was founded in 1989, several community groups and schools approached us for help in reviving unused public land. In response, we began our Urban Orchards Program. We reached out to local community development corporations and other groups in low-income Boston neighborhoods as part of a concerted effort to involve these communities. The greater part of our initial effort was reclaiming public green spaces in low-income communities in the urban core, and planting these sites with fruit-and nut- bearing trees.

In 1990, with the help of several community groups and schools, we planted 200 trees and shrubs at 20 sites, primarily in the Boston neighborhoods of Dorchester and Jamaica Plain. In subsequent years we added new sites while helping our partners maintain and add to plantings at existing sites. We provided caretakers with mulch and fertilizer and offered horticultural classes for orchard maintenance. During its first five years, the program functioned completely by volunteer efforts, while a “Tour of the Orchards” pledge bicycle ride raised money for trees, tools, and printing and helped publicize the program.

In 1998 we published the Urban Fruit Guide, which lists publicly accessible fruit, nuts, and berries not only at our orchards but also at all publicly accessible sites in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and Somerville. The guide also includes useful information on various fruits and harvesting tips, which are transferable to other locations. You may order a copy by clicking here.

To date EarthWorks has planted more than 800 trees and shrubs in its urban orchards. Our current orchards include 14 in Dorchester, 8 in Jamaica Plain, 7 in Roxbury, 1 in Mattapan, 7 in Cambridge, 8 in Somerville, and 2 in other areas of Greater Boston. Take a virtual tour of our orchards.

Program strengths and opportunities

• Neighbors are usually willing to work for positive change in their communities. Additionally, some low-income residents in urban neighborhoods originally came from agricultural settings either in the United States or abroad and bring valuable knowledge and interest in cultivating their own food.
• Fruit- and nut-bearing trees afford the same benefits as other urban trees; they provide beauty, shade in the summer, a nearby relief to carbon-based pollution, and proximity to nature. An important added benefit of fruit trees is the food they give us.
• Instead of eating fruit trucked in from thousands of miles away or shipped from New Zealand, urban orchards are a step towards sustainability by eating locally grown food. There’s also the opportunity to eat fruit that is chemical free and organically grown.
• Our horticultural courses have trained more than 150 adults. Instead of paying for these courses, most students have chosen to volunteer at one of our orchard sites. The classes focus on hands-on learning, usually in the orchards themselves. Our topics include site and plant selection, tree planting and care, organically controlling common pests and diseases, pruning, and composting. View our horticultural manual here.
• Volunteerism creates enthusiasm and community ownership of the urban orchards. In addition, reliance on volunteers helps keep program costs low thereby making the program available to more people and sites.
• As a result of having planted orchards in 16 schoolyards we developed the Outdoor Classrooms Program, which helps children experience nature and become responsible caretakers of the earth while deepening their understanding of many learning objectives of the Boston Public School science curriculum through hands-on learning.
• More than 85% of our plants have survived to date (some 700 of 800). Abundant harvests of raspberries, peaches, cherries, plums, grapes, hazelnuts, apples and pears have brought people together. As sites mature and trees are added, the size of the harvest continues to grow.

Program challenges

• While each orchard begins with enthusiasm and the involvement of local residents or organizations, over time some “friends groups” no longer function as they once did. The greatest continuous challenge is to provide ongoing care and stewardship at existing orchards. Even the most native fruit trees require maintenance to be productive. Before planting an orchard, it is very important to establish a credible plan for long-term care. We have found that it is better to rely on stable organizations for such care rather than individuals who may become over time unable or unwilling to provide needed maintenance.
• In the urban landscape, today’s green grass may be covering soil contaminates from decades ago. While there seems to be no evidence that heavy metal contaminants make their way into the fruit, we strongly recommend soil testing for any site that may have a history of contamination. It would be very unfortunate to bypass this step before planting only to find out ten years later when the trees are fully producing that no one dare eat the fruit because of soil contaminants.
• Very limited financial resources, both for us and for most of our orchard partners, are an ongoing challenge to providing proper care for the orchards. For example, community access to tools and other needed resources, such as mulch, fertilizer, and signs is often limited. One way to address this problem is to contact tool manufacturers and distributors for sponsorships or discounts on tools and to obtain free mulch from various sources. Another is to help local "Friends of the Orchard" groups organize their own fundraising events to purchase tools and other needed materials.

Our Program Information further describes strengths and challenges of the Urban Orchards Program.

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