Fruit trees are coming to Edgecomb Eddy School. ReTreeUS visited the school in the fruit tree mobile to continue work with the students, teachers, and administration to plan out an orchard to be planted this fall. In addition to outside donors, the Boothbay Garden Club and Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens have contributed to the project with the planting of a perennial pollinator garden.
ReTreeUS has been planting orchards in schools and with community partners for 11 years and has planted 70 school orchards. The types of trees they typically plant with schools are apple, pear, and peach trees. During the spring site visit, ReTreeUS met with students to measure and mark the tree locations.
The group talked about what conditions are important for fruit trees, what types of trees can grow here, and about the decomposition that will be happening to prepare the planting sites. The benefits of fruit trees were also discussed, including how they provide nutritious food, improve air quality, and support pollinators, just to name a few.
Students will work to make sure each tree location will have cardboard and compost placed over it to build the soil and reduce grass so it will be ready for planting in the fall.
To learn more about the orchard or how to support the project, contact the Edgecomb Eddy School. The students planting and caring for the trees will be leaving a wonderful legacy for their community for years to come.
For more information about ReTreeUS, go to retree.us
