Tree Eastie, a local non-profit organization that focuses on planting and maintaining trees while educating residents about their benefits, has been awarded a grant for a fruit tree program that will begin this month.
The $50,000 grant, which comes from GrowBoston, the city’s Office of Urban Agriculture, will fund programming from this May until next May.
“The exciting thing is that it comes with a programming component to it, meaning that part of our goal and mission will be to educate residents on the value of growing their own fruit, producing their own fruit,” said Bill Masterson, founder of Tree Eastie.
“Coming along with that will be making fruit trees available, identifying fruit trees that currently exist in East Boston, and helping people who own those fruit trees maximize their harvest.”
Additionally, Ethan Vogt, executive director of East Boston Main Streets, a partner in this endeavor, explained that the grant will not only facilitate the creation of hands-on workshops and general community building but it will also allow Tree Eastie to bring in experts to work with the community to help maintain existing fruit trees, such as the ones in the Rockies Urban Wild.
“We’re trying to reach all residents of East Boston, so we’re making a real effort to be able to provide outreach and resources in multiple languages,” said Vogt.
Vogt explained that major fruit tree plantings would likely occur in the fall. However, the initiative is kicking off this month with plans for programming as early as the weekend of May 31st.
“We’re really going to follow the needs of the trees and also community needs as we design these programs,” said Vogt, who indicated that they would be free and open to the public.
Regarding what programming and the aforementioned workshops might look like, Vogt talked about the different activities that go into maintaining fruit trees, such as proper mulching and adequate watering, and that the season or what the trees need will dictate what is done.
Masterson also outlined his vision for the workshops, which would mirror the programming that the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway does. An expert could come in and talk to residents about different subjects, such as how to grow a fruit tree or its benefits.
Moreover, he spoke about how they are currently in the fact-finding phase and gathering information about who has fruit trees and the residents’ desire to plant them in the neighborhood.
“The message we want to broadcast in the community is, do you have a fruit tree, and if you do have a fruit tree, we’ve got some services now available to be able to help you take care of that fruit tree,” said Masterson.
He also explained that through this new program, Tree Eastie can help plant fruit trees for those who want them in their yards and provide training to maintain them.
Not only that, but for those who might not have the room for a fruit tree, residents can become stewards and take care of the fruit trees in the Urban Wild or Belle Isle Marsh.
While Masterson and Vogt emphasized that they want to maintain the areas in the neighborhood with existing fruit trees, which will be enabled through this grant, there is potential to add fruit trees to other places.
“The goal that we would have is to kind of set up a mini orchard in every one of the neighborhoods in East Boston,” said Masterson.
Regarding the benefits of fruit trees, Vogt not only highlighted the ability of residents to enjoy their own fruit, but also said that it allows them to be a “steward of a natural process.”
He also indicated that the fruit can provide for others, such as migrating birds, and help the soil.
“We just want to educate people that there’s value in growing your own fruit, not only the nutritional value but also, like Ethan said, it builds the community and brings people together,” said Masterson.
Concerning the fruit trees that could be planted in the neighborhood, Vogt indicated they are in the exploration phase and suggested that apples and pears would probably be the focus. Still, he also mentioned the potential for figs and plums.
In addition to this new programming kicking off, Tree Eastie has other great news; the city will plant 154 street trees in East Boston this spring, which was facilitated by the non-profit’s work.
Specifically, Tree Eastie collects signatures of those who want street trees, which are then turned over to the city and eventually planted.
“Of those 154, 94 of them are new tree pits, so they’re actually cutting the sidewalk and putting the tree pits in,” said Masterson.
“That 154 that the city is planting is the most that the city has ever planted at any time in any neighborhood in the city.”
For those interested in learning more about Tree Eastie, visit its website at https://www.treeeastie.org/. Additionally, visit https://tinyurl.com/EastieFruit to sign up to participate in the new fruit tree program.