Neighbourhood Fruit Trees

A freshly picked Slocan Park walnut.

Did you know that the 49 000 population of Renfrew-Collingwood includes a higher proportion of seniors, new immigrants, and/or low-income families than the City of Vancouver as a whole? And did you know that the people in all of these groups have a higher likelihood of experiencing hunger, compromised nutrition, and social isolation?

The idea for the Renfrew Collingwood Food Security Institute (RC FSI) emerged when a group of concerned residents began thinking about increasingly evident hunger, isolation, and poverty issues in the neighbourhood. They wanted to develop a community response to a silently growing problem, and they wanted everyone to know that food is a human right--even for those who live without a lot of material resources. That's how the RC FSI was born. We have been working with community partners, residents, and volunteers to overcome food insecurity in our neighbourhood since 2002.

The RC FSI identifies food security challenges in our neighbourhood, and with the help, leadership, and feedback of the people who live here, we strive to address these issues. Part of this vision is to create a neighbourhood where everyone (regardless of their financial situation) can access fresh and local food...and have the space and skills to grow food if they wish to.

In 2005, RC FSI began working closely with Renfrew Park Community Centre and the Vancouver Park Board to pilot a circle of fruit and nut trees in Slocan Park (near 29th Avenue Skytrain Station). In addition to the nutritious benefits of having fruit trees in a public park, the trees were part of a bigger mission to beautify Slocan Park and make it safer. Other improvements to the park included a covered area for community activities, a totem pole, improved lighting, tile mosaic work, painted murals, and more.

The Slocan Park fruit trees were the first of their kind to be planted in a Vancouver public park. Since this was a very new project, The Park Board had many questions and concerns. They knew the trees would benefit the community, but wanted to know who would tend to the trees on a daily basis. Young trees need a lot of love just to survive, let alone bear fruit. Even mature fruit trees require regular and skillful pruning, mulching, and fertilizing. There were also concerns that unpicked fruit would fall to the ground, attract insects, and generally create a slippery mess.

A neighbourhood Tai Chi group that meets daily in Slocan Park stepped forward to offer to care for the trees. They received information and support from Vancouver arborist David Tracey, whose organization Tree City had been a strong supporter and project advisor from the beginning.

The trees (including quince, apple, pear, Asian pear, and walnut) have been living near the Slocan Park field house ever since.

This hasn't been an easy journey! The first apple trees succumbed to disease and had to be replaced soon after. The trees have also been subjected to vandalism by unseen park users and passers-by who tear off branches from the young saplings. Early in the life of the quince tree, someone broke the central leader (main trunk) in half and today it looks more like a shrub than a tree.

It has become clear that trees growing in public spaces are more vulnerable than those growing in the shelter of a backyard. They need a lot of extra support in order to thrive.


Planting a persimmon tree at the 2009 Harvest Fair.


Damaged persimmon tree. Photo by Derrick Chiang.

In 2009, RC FSI fundraised to add four additional trees (two persimmon and two fig) to give the existing trees more presence and diversity. During the annual Moon Festival and Harvest Fair, volunteers and many local families helped to put the trees in the ground. Sadly, within two days of planting, one of the persimmon trees had been kicked over. The trunk had been snapped off at the base and the tree couldn't be saved. The tree's destruction was discouraging, but the RC FSI fundraised again to replace the tree in early spring 2010.

Falaise Park Orchard

Fruit trees waiting to be planted.

So it is with a lot of excitement that we have witnessed a big change in Vancouver. Compared to four years ago, there is now much greater political support and more resources allotted to urban agriculture and edible landscaping initiatives. The City's Greenest City Action Team is aiming to plant 150 000 trees (especially food-bearing trees) by 2020. The Park Board has been able to dedicate more resources to tree planting and tree care, working with community groups to take ownership over the trees and building a legacy of accessible local food for all residents.

On November 10th, the Park Board and students from Renfrew Elementary School, Vancouver Christian School, and Windermere Secondary School joined forces to plant 25 fruit trees in Falaise Park. RC FSI was on hand to express support for the new community orchard, and to speak about the educational opportunities (including canning, fruit dehydration, and tree care) that we'll be able to bring when the trees begin to bear.

The crowd planted 5 trees each of apple, cherry, plum, pear, and peach. Their early care will be provided especially by the Christian School students and the Park Board. It was a great honour to be part of such a celebratory and special occasion (not to mention the fact that we had crisp, clear, and beautiful weather)!


A beautiful day to be planting trees. Photo by Michael Levenston from City Farmer.

Falaise Park and the surrounding subdivision were originally built for military personnel returning from WWII. The story of returning soldiers and their "war brides" is an important part of our neighbourhood's history (you can read more here). Although no one mentioned the date (November 10, just before Remembrance Day), it was significant to me that so many children should gather in peace to plant trees as a legacy to their own children. It also seemed appropriate that Renfrew-Collingwood, home to that first humble circle of Slocan Park saplings, should also be home to Vancouver's first public park orchard of this scale!

Other Neighbourhood Fruit Projects

Collingwood Neighbourhood House will be celebrating its 25th anniversary this month. As part of the festivities, we will be honouring our eight major funders by planting a fruit tree for each in nearby Collingwood Park. Once the trees begin to bear, any fruit not picked by local residents will be collected and used for educational workshops, in food programs (such as the Breakfast and Shower Program), and redistributed to low-income neighbours.


Staking an heirloom apple tree at the Horley Street small space orchard.

Throughout this fall and winter, we are also working on a small-space demonstration orchard at 2723 Horley Street. We will be planting fruit trees, Native edible berries and nuts, and other fruiting plants to demonstrate different strategies for growing fruit in small urban spaces. We also hope to reclaim some space from our sprawling and most-loved invasive plant, the Himalayan Blackberry, to show how Native species can be reintroduced to formerly overrun spaces.


Building the Native Berry Trail (August 2007).

The reintroduction of edible Native plant species is also demonstrated at the Native Berry Trail (beneath the Skytrain tracks between Joyce and Rupert Streets). The Berry Trail was built by the Collingwood Community Gardeners and other enthusiastic volunteers in 2007. Garbage and invasive Morning Glory and Himalayan Blackberry plants were cleared away and replaced with a range of Native edible plants (including Oregon Grape, huckleberry, and beaked hazelnut). Against the backdrop of Jerry Whitehead's lush community mural, the Berry Trail honours the Aboriginal history of the Collingwood Neighbourhood. Lately the Berry Trail has been the subject of a lot of vandalism and garbage dumping and needs lots of help.

We are looking to build volunteer stewardship teams for these three sites. If you love trees, fruit, or Native plants and you want to get involved, contact us with the words "Fruit Growing Project Volunteer" in the subject line.

With your help, we can strengthen community food security supports and make organic, local food accessible for all our neighbours. We look forward to hearing from you!