Grow-your-own fruit program coming to Richmond Hill

yorkregion.com
Feb. 28, 2016
By Kim Zarzour

With dire warnings of higher food prices on the way, the solution may be as close as your backyard.

A new non-profit program is coming to York Region that could deliver low-cost grow-your-own fruit, berries and vegetables to your door - and plant them in the ground, if you you so wish.

TreeMobile is an initiative by Transition Toronto that has operated successfully in Guelph and Toronto for several years and now is expanding to Richmond Hill, thanks to environmentally conscientious citizens like Liz Couture.

Couture, an active volunteer in the community and music teacher, said she is keen to bring the idea to her hometown because of its emphasis is on “resiliency in the face of uncertain economic times”.

Transition Toronto is the Toronto chapter of the global Transition Movement, a grassroots initiative seeking solutions to the problems of oil depletion and climate change.

Run by volunteers, TreeMobile delivers inexpensive climate-appropriate food-bearing trees and shrubs to local communities, bringing a slew of benefits, including locally grown food, carbon storage through tree growth, energy savings via shading buildings in summer, improved air quality, soil stability, renewal of aging tree stock and regeneration of some of the tree canopy lost in the recent ice storm.

As well, when you can grow food in your back yard, you are more able to resist the economic ups and downs of global markets, Couture said.

“When I really allow my imagination to run away with me, I see large varieties of fruit trees growing apples, pears, cherries, and berries, and people sharing the goods with each other,” she said.

“If I have a cherry tree in my backyard, but I don’t want to spend two weeks creating jams and pies out of the bountiful harvest, then I might ask my neighbour if she wants some. In turn, she might offer me some pears. If we really wanted to be entrepreneurial about it, we could even do some kind of selling (or bartering) to each other. I love to have fresh fruit to eat, and if I can save a bit of money in the growing season for local and fresh fruit, and share with my neighbours at the same time, then I would enjoy that.”

The trees being delivered will be about 7-feet tall and may not provide fruit in the first years, but the bushes could bring a bounty more quickly, said TreeMobile organizer Andrew Knox.

“This is about the fun of watching your own fruit grow, the delicious taste and freshness, and the joy of sharing with others, said Virginie Gysel, TreeMobile founder. “Some of our plants are really easy to care for, so why landscape when you can foodscape?”

Volunteers have been delivering trees for six years in Guelph and in Toronto for three years and interest continues to grow, Knox said.

This year, the group hopes to expand to Richmond Hill, Oakville and Cambridge.

The fruit trees, berry bushes and asparagus plants (ranging in price from $5 to $47) can be ordered online now.

The plants are available for purchase by anyone, regardless of residence, provided purchasers can pick up at the drop-off location in Richmond Hill.

If enough Richmond Hill residents make purchases, TreeMobile will arrange volunteers to deliver and plant in customers’ backyards in that for a small fee ($2.50 for pre-digging, $6 for planting), Knox said.

Otherwise, the trees will be available for pick up May 1 at the home of Joe Agg, another passionate nature activist and long-time Richmond Hill resident, located near the David Dunlap Observatory at Bayview Avenue and Weldrick Road.

Agg said he became involved because he is bothered to see the “slaughter” of trees across York Region to make way for development.

“We are doing a disservice to ourselves and to wildlife. Trees are what sustain us. I believe it’s the only way we have a chance to save the planet.”

In order to keep the prices low, the organization purchases in bulk and leftovers will be donated to the Edible Community Garden grant program, Knox said.

The grant - in the form of free trees and bushes - is open to schools, faith groups, community gardens or non-profit organizations.

Couture plans to purchase several trees for planting in her yard. Richmond Hill has been recognized over the years for encouraging eco-friendly programs and she hopes this will raise the bar even further.

“Everyone’s looking for ways to reduce carbon footprint/energy consumption, so having a fruit tree reduces the need to have fossil fuel burning trucks deliver the fruit from afar,” she said.

“I am a tree hugger, I admit it, I really, really love trees a lot.”

To learn more, go to transitiontreemobile.org.