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The Good Fruit 'N' Greenways Project

Planting fruit trees in Greater Victoria

5,000 VOLUNTEER HOURS & PARTNERSHIPS WITH:

  • COMMON GROUND
  • 5 NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS
  • ONE 1st NATIONS BAND
  • 10,000 POUNDS OF FRUIT
  • 534 FRUIT BEARING TREES
  • GREENING OUR COMMUNITIES

 

The Good Fruit 'N' Greenways Project addressed food, agro-forestry, environmental diversity and community health issues in the Greater Victoria region through the planning, planting, and harvesting of 500 fruit bearing trees and bushes. The project brings together LifeCycles with 5 community associations and 1 First Nation to re-design and utilize their green spaces for food production and increased biodiversity. The project has accomplished the planting of 534 fruit bearing trees, vines, bushes and plants and conducted community design and planning assessments as well as five training workshops in two different regions of the city.

Good Food 'N' Greenways Project Goals & Objectives

  1. To mobilize Community Planners and Stakeholders by offering a successful model in the greening of public spaces with food bearing trees, while documenting the success of the GFNGW Project online, sharing with other Communities, Community Planners and Stakeholders, the possibilities of planting food bearing trees in public Green Spaces.

  2. To Strengthen the Agro-Forestry component of the Greater Victoria urban environment, continuing to see apples, cherries, peaches, pears, plums, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, figs, kiwi, grapes, walnuts, chestnuts, currants, huckleberries, elderberries, and passion vines planted in various communities in Greater Victoria.

  3. To increase community and regional biodiversity and usable Green Spaces, promoting and sharing the success of our GFNGW Project design, planning processes, and mapping of green spaces, building the capacity of others to continue this work.

  4. To increase the amount of local fresh fruit grown and distributed throughout the region, and provide long term food provisioning for disadvantaged communities, demonstrating the LifeCycles' GFNGW project model; planting 534 fruit-bearing trees, vines, bushes and plants, providing an ever-increasing supply of fruit as they grow and mature, encouraging other communities to continue this legacy.

  5. Enhance the appeal of community-oriented Green Spaces for eating, biking and walking, with fruit trees planted in common areas such as community centres, community gardens, daycares, churches, and coops - all community-oriented Green Spaces - to encourage people living there to take advantage of and utilize the bounty and abundance of outdoor space.

  6. To publish our success story, encouraging Developers and City Planners to consider the benefits to the public in their design and planting of Green Spaces, building community capacity to maintain and care for local food resources through ongoing training and involvement, and to act as a resource for participating communities to access learning tools on long-term care and maintenance.

  7. To build stronger relationships with Community Organizations, City Planners and Developers in the Greater Victoria region, encouraging public and private stakeholder support in the green viability of our city.

  8. The environmental messages we hope to convey through the publication of the GFNGW Project are as follows:
    • An introduction of food resources in Green Spaces promote biodiversity and the increase of native species, resulting in native berry bushes.
    • Through a greater quantity of trees and bushes in Green Spaces, walking and bike-riding are encouraged, resulting in less need to drive. This equals the reduction C02 emissions created by personal transportation fossil fuels.
    • The awareness of the interdependence of the environment, food and quality of life and the unequaled benefit of common Green Spaces.

  9. We are targeting City Planners, Community Groups, Developers and other Urban Stakeholders, while providing an invaluable resource to communities who have planted fruit bearing trees, and who are also searching for trouble-shooting care and maintenance tips, to ensure the long-term success and food production of the trees.

Fruit Tree Planting with the Good Fruit 'N' Greenways Project Navigation