Be a Harvest Leader with the Fruit Tree Project!

The Fruit Tree Project is gearing up for another season of rescuing fruit from trees around the region that would otherwise go to waste and redistributing the harvest. The harvest is shared four ways: to the homeowners who invite us to come pick the fruit; to the volunteers who lend their time picking; to the social enterprise branch for continued sustainability of the program; and finally, to food banks and community organizations working towards food sovereignty for all.

Just as with last season, fruit is ripening out there early- we’ve already been eating cherries and we have our eyes on those luscious almost-there plums…

With this excitement comes the need to start bringing together the volunteer crews that make the Fruit Tree Project happen. Our dear Harvest Leaders are the backbone of this whole beautiful thing.

It’s also the most demanding of our roles, and thus perfect for the volunteer hoping to sink their teeth a little deeper into the juiciness of the fruit harvest. In this role you get to choose when and what you want to pick, drive the beloved LifeCycles van (you’ll get the hang of it) to and from picks, coordinate volunteers onsite, pick, weigh, document and sort fruit. And how do we thank you for the gift of your time? With fruit, fruit items, and fruit preserves of course!

At the orientation, we’ll share a meal together and you’ll learn about the online systems we use for each pick, what the gear you’ll need to bring and where it is kept, as well as info about our Farm Gleaning project (returning for a second season!)

Our Harvest Leader Orientations are scheduled for:

Monday, June 20th 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Wednesday, June 29th 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

We’ll meet at our new location at 808 Viewfield Rd. in Esquimalt. The 24, 14 and 15 buses come near to here, with a short walk between 1 – 10 minutes. There is also parking at the new location.

To sign up or with any questions, email Jenny at [email protected]

Read more about the Fruit Tree Project here.

And check out the delicious local products we make with a portion of the surplus.