LFS:UBC Farm Audio Tour Heritage Orchard
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Hey there, my name is Sarah Belanger. I’m going to share with you a bit about the UBC Farm Heritage Orchard, which began as a bright little flash of an idea in my head in 2005, and through an undergraduate Directed Studies turned into the rows of growing trees before you.
To give you an idea of some our goals with the orchard, let me take you back to the planning stages when I was thinking often about the Permaculture design principle: “single element, multiple functions,” which basically means that no one thing does just one thing. You can see this theme across the programs of the UBC Farm - multiple goals are achieved through every individual project – and my goals in the orchard’s creation were numerous.
First of all, I wished to provide a sanctuary for heritage apple cultivars and contribute to the preservation of diverse apple genetics and apple culture. In your average grocery store you’re lucky to find half a dozen to a dozen varieties of apples, though an estimated 7500 cultivars exist globally. The UBC Farm Heritage Orchard includes over 70 varieties – which is a drop in the bucket, but a precious drop! Our oldest cultivars, the Gravenstein and Fameuse apples, are over 400 years old, dating to circa 1600. Visitors can stroll through the orchard and read about where our apples originated, when they were first named, and what they are best used for (such as eating fresh, cooking, making cider, drying etc). A walk through the orchard is truly a tour of our culinary and social history – we are making visible the stories of our food!
Second, I wanted to increase the potential for agricultural and horticultural curriculum at the UBC Farm by providing a working orchard that is available for research, practicum experience, and study within the context of an agroecosystem. UBC students are welcome to get involved in our orchard through directed studies, our practicum students learn to graft and prune each year, and some UBC classes include the Orchard in their curriculum.
Third, I hoped to create a productive, demonstration orchard that could serve as an educational resource for urban fruit production in Vancouver. We are proud to offer orchard tours and workshops, and the farm gates are open for drop in visitors who want to come by and take a look - especially anyone considering planting a tree or two in their back yard who would like to gather ideas about trellising options, density, cultivars etc.
Fourth, I wanted to increase perennial food crop production at the UBC Farm. Perennial crops are planted once and then produce every subsequent year, as opposed to annual crops (like tomatoes), which need to be re-planted every growing season. By increasing perennial production I sought to contribute to the UBC Farm’s ecological and financial sustainability.
Finally, I wanted to help protect the UBC Farm by increasing its value through the creation of yet another unique and significant project onsite. Beyond the benefits that I’ve already mentioned – the Heritage Orchard offers therapeutic and recreational value. A stroll through the orchard in the spring when the trees are in bloom, or in the fall when the apples are ripe, is uplifting. As a Counselling Psychology Graduate Student I firmly believe in the power of horticultural therapy; Being in, and connecting to, beautiful, natural spaces heals and heartens people!
And on that note – welcome to our orchard! I hope you enjoy your walk around and that one day soon you will return and buy a few of our delicious apples!