SOUTH FORSYTH — A park in south Forsyth soon will boast a community orchard where visitors can pick native fruits straight off the trees, thanks to a grant and some helping high school hands.
Keep Forsyth County Beautiful received $2,000 from its state umbrella organization to plant the orchard in Chattahoochee Pointe Park as part of Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation’s Community Orchard Project.
The trees were planted Saturday in the 100-acre south Forsyth park, which features more than two miles of walking trails and a Chattahoochee River-themed, nature-inspired playground.
Forsyth Central High School’s International Club helped lay the mulch for the orchard, which will initially be home to 30 trees.
Club members have been volunteering with the organization for “several years,” said Tammy Wright, environmental programs manager for the county.
The purpose of the Community Orchard Project, now in its third year, is to plant trees for environmental benefit while providing a free, local food source. The Georgia Urban Forest Council and the Georgia Forestry Commission provide technical and planning assistance to grant recipients.
“I remember as a child growing up being able to just take a walk and fill my pockets with a variety of fruits, nuts and berries that grew along roads and in public areas,” Wright said. “One of the requirements for the grant is that the harvest from the trees must be available to the public and/or the wildlife.
“It is exciting to know that others will be able to take a stroll in the park and pick a fruit or nut from a tree that was intended for that purpose.”
Keep Forsyth Beautiful worked with the county’s parks department and the local extension office to create the community orchard of native, low-maintenance fruit and nut trees, according to a news release. The tree species include persimmon, serviceberry, pawpaw, chinquapin, crabapple and Chickasaw plum.
“The [project] gives communities the financial and technical resources they need to integrate orchards into public spaces,” said Sarah Visser, executive director of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation.
“In many cases, our food travels thousands of miles to reach us. This project reconnects Georgians to our food supply and demonstrates the benefits of growing food right in our own communities.”
Visser said the project has planted more than 180 trees in six Georgia communities since its inception in 2012, with orchards being placed in schools, community gardens, parks, greenways and libraries.
Ten projects are being installed during the 2014-15 planting seasons, with the focus being on planting more than 15 species of trees.
In addition to Forsyth, these projects will be in neighboring Hall County and Roswell, among other sites.