Howdy Swappers,
Three years ago we did a letterbox drop to our closest neighbours, we'd had an idea to turn a grassy nature strip outside our house into a community orchard, and we wanted them to be a part of it. We invited them to come one Saturday morning with " a shovel, a fruit tree, some manure or just a whole heap of enthusiasm", and come they did! That day our neighbourhood united and together we planted citrus, stone fruit, pomegranate and avocado. It has become our community orchard, where baskets of fruit are left every few days for whoever needs a lemon or a grapefruit, where Marg from around the corner occasionally potters with her secateurs and some mulch and where, in the not too distant future, our community will reap the rewards of a huge variety of communal fruit... so now is where you come in...is there a space in your local neighbourhood for a community orchard? a patch or a verge where you can foresee lemon, orange and fig trees? If so, let the Crop & Swap community know and we can help with your planting day. Our hope is that swappers will lend a hand, a shovel, a fruit tree or a bag of manure to a fellow swapper starting a community orchard. Our aim this season is to start 3 more community orchards/gardens in the Blue Mountains.
Imagine a Blue Mountains where community orchards in lane-ways are the norm. If you'd like to volunteer your services, let us know below or on facebook how you can help ,
with neighbourly cheer,
the Crop & Swap team.
