Not Far From The Tree is a Toronto-based fruit picking project inspired by 3 things: the spirit of sharing, the desire to give back to our community, and a passion for environmentally sustainable living. Lucus Meilach-Boston from 'Not far from the Tree' joins us on this episode to discuss the amazing efforts local volunteers are doing to harvest and protect Toronto's fruit trees. Torontonians with fruit-bearing trees often have fruit to spare – everything from apples, pears and grapes to sumac, apricots and elderberry! Once they register their tree, we’ll pick their fruit and divvy up the harvest 3 ways: between the homeowner, our volunteers, and local food banks, shelters and community kitchens.

Fruit Trees bring us Spring flowers, shade, shelter for wildlife, a sustainable source of food. These are just a few of ways fruiting trees and shrubs add value to nature and our urban landscapes. In Toronto however, losing these beautiful specimens and the added value they provide Torontonians is becoming a reality.  We learn how Not Far From the Tree is taking steps to address the health of Toronto's Fruit trees. They are partnering with Susan Poizner from https://orchardpeople.com/  to create a program of educating volunteers and homeowners about Fruit Tree care. Find out more info here:  https://notfarfromthetree.org/orchardstewards/

We enjoy doing Down the Garden path each week to bring you interesting, relevant and helpful topics to help you achieve a great garden or learn about environmental topics. We learn right along with you from each other, from our research or from the guests like Lucas, that join us here.