A piece of “fresh” fruit in a grocery store has traveled an average of 1200 miles to get there. It has been handled by an average of 6 people on the way and 20% of the energy that went into that fruit’s production went into the packaging necessary to move it that far in a presentable condition. The knowledge of how to grow fresh local fruit has largely been lost to mega-farms in Washington State and California. The Urban Orchard Project was started in 1999 as a partnership between TreeFolks, the Texas Organic Growers’ Association and Austin Community Gardens. The concept of the project was to plant groves of locally adapted fruit and nut trees and to use those orchards as a platform to teach people how to grow fresh fruit using organic methods.

Starting with a small orchard in a public housing project in 1999 the program has grown to include orchards approaching one acre in size. The crowning achievement of the program so far was a mini-orchard project in February 2006 which dispensed 800 fruit and nut trees along with detailed instructions to individuals so that they could start producing their own healthy, chemical-free food for many years to come.

If you would like to establish an orchard in a public space in Central Texas please download the Urban Orchard Project Application and mail it to TreeFolks at the address provided. If you’d like to participate in an orchard project or attend one of our fruit and nut production workshops please see our Calendar page. If you’d like to support the Urban Orchard project please Contact us or go straight to the Donate page.  To keep up with the latest Urban Orchard, tree and TreeFolks news, register to receive our e-newsletter and/or to receive notice of volunteer opportunities.