LifeCycles Fruit Tree Project

The Fruit Tree Project is entering its 10th season!  We are now taking bookings from homeowners wishing to have their trees picked. PLEASE NOTE: We are experiencing a high volume of requests this year and are doing our very best to accommodate and meet everyone’s needs. If you are having any difficulties or have questions please call our central office at 250-383-5800.  Thank you for your patience and support for this important and innovative project!

The LifeCycles Fruit Tree Project, volunteers and a couple of ladders are turning backyard fruit trees into a valuable source of food for the community. The Fruit Tree Project harvests fruit from private trees that would otherwise go to waste. The delicious fruit is then distributed among homeowners, volunteers, food banks and community organisations within Victoria. We also host preserving workshops, so community members can enjoy local fruit year round

Background

In the 1800s, Victoria became the legendary fruit growing centre of B.C. The stately old fruit trees on backyards across the city are the legacy of orchards that once flourished in the region's mild climate and fertile soils. The sad part of the story is that the apple has seen its heyday. With our busier lifestyles, few of us find time to cultivate and harvest apple trees and many of Victoria's old apple trees now drop their annual loads on someone's lawn. While the wasps gorge on homegrown fruit, Victorians bring home bags of shiny Granny Smiths shipped from the Okanagan, the US or New Zealand. Such market varieties are chosen for durability and good looks rather than flavour, quality or historical importance. As a result, many varieties that were valued in the past for exceptional texture, taste, good storage ability or tradition are being lost. With them goes centuries of history and careful selection along with our ability to discern and appreciate subtle nuances of their flavours.

LifeCycles Fruit Tree Project is a celebration of a simpler time when we fed ourselves from our own orchards and gardens, timed the passage of seasons by the ripening of fruit and discussed pie recipes over the fence with our neighbours. Up and picking with LifeCycles since 2000, the Fruit Tree Project (FTP) volunteers and a couple of ladders have transformed backyard fruit trees into a valuable source of food for the community.

The Fruit Tree Project links people who have surplus produce in their yards, with people who have the willingness and ability to harvest it, to people and community groups that do not have access to fresh produce. Volunteers harvest fruit from private trees that would otherwise go to waste. Fresh cherries, plums, apples, pears and other fruit (or sometimes vegetables) are then distributed through Community Centers and Food Banks, and shared among volunteer pickers, tree owners and the Fruit Tree Project. Produce is generally picked from July through October. The FTP aims to match or exceed last year's harvest of 30,000 pounds of fruit.

Direct Mobile to the Fruit Tree Project Coordinator:
250-208-8308

Project Coordinator:
Danielle Stevenson
fruittree.lifecycles[at]gmail.com
250-383-5800

Business Developer:
Karin Lengger
karin[at]beanthere.ca
250-208-1591