Community Partner: Baltimore Orchard Project Intern: Anna Lindsay Site Supervisor: Eric Sargent
What is Baltimore Orchard Project? Baltimore Orchard Project strengthens communities through planting and cultivating orchards.
Just wait a few years, then you’ ll see … Prior to my internship with the Baltimore Orchard Project I had no idea what kind of impact that fruit and nut trees could have. While it takes some patience, love, and care to grow, I can’ t imagine planting any other trees but these. I’ ve been able to witness first hand how much food they produce in community gardens and in urban forests, and furthermore the impact they have. Not only is it fresh, nutritious food but it is literally the fruit of one’ s own labor when our planting partners pursue developing their own orchard. Through my internship I have been able to see people connect with nature in healthy and sustainable ways. From hosting harvests to educating the public on the benefits of fruit in our lives, I am seeing just how possible it is for us to create a truly“ edible Baltimore”. Simply showing local children and community members how easy it is to harvest your own fruit, and being able to see their reaction of awe is what has inspired me to continue working in this area. Managing my organization’ s social media constantly reminds me of why I want to. I’ ve been fortunate enough to be exposed to a wide array of neighborhoods in Baltimore now, seeing how much of a threat food deserts are to this city’ s environment and public health. I took my overall goal to create a seasonality fruit calendar into something more, a resource which ANY person in the Baltimore community could use. I went beyond the seasonality and nutritional benefits of fruit to incorporate access to local farmers’ markets where they could buy this food( fresh and local), exercises that one can do without the need of a gym to stay fit, recipes that require minimal experience / spending on ingredients, and great alternative ways to use these fruits throughout the year. I’ ve learned a great deal about this city, and even more about myself this summer. I found that I have a love or knack for urban planning, and I plan to pursue a long term project with a local community farm throughout the year to help them design and implement a community garden center. Seeing all of these community farms that my organization partners with gives me hopes that one day everyone will know about them, and Baltimore will once again be filled with fruit trees in which anyone can enjoy the gifts of. ‐ Anna
Tasks:
● Researched seasonality, nutr recipes, and alternative ways for " An Edible Baltimore " boo features local farmers ' marke exercises
● Worked with other local non organizations by teaching at community garden planning making night
● Prepared recipe cards for eve be distributed to the public
● Consulted future planting par planning