Home town fruit tree planting

My home town boasts a growing food-sharing network, thanks to a home-grown nonprofit called Daily Acts.



On March 22, Daily Acts co-hosted a workshop called "Digging, Drumming, Dancing" with Common Vision, a statewide nonprofit composed of mostly beautiful, healthy young people who have been touring the state planting fruit trees at schools, community centers and now the backyards of Petalumans who are willing to share their bounty with the community. Click on the link to see one of their brightly painted "hippie buses."

The Common Visioneers took about an hour to install 10 fruit trees in my backyard--nectarines, early and late peaches, apples and an apricot (my favorite!).

During the day they planted trees in four yards, conducted a grafting workshop (see slide show above), and livened up the digging with traditional African agricultural rhythms on African drums.

Most of us workshop attendees were on the shady side of 40, and one of us commented on the fact that we were the old learning from the young. Hurray for youth! I remember it well.

Many thanks to Common Vision, Daily Acts, and especially Trathen Heckman and Ellen Bicheler, for seeing this project through. Come see me in a couple of summers. I'll have some fruit for you.