After four years, this could be the summer that the Copley Community Orchard’s trees bear cherries and plums. We need more friends and volunteers at the upcoming work party to help make this happen.
The Copley Community Orchard a hop and skip from Trout Lake. If you commute from Nanaimo Skytrain, you’ve likely taken a shortcut through us. If any of our 130 trees and berry bushes or herbs look ripe for eating next time you to go work/school, feel free to grab a snack! We are the people’s orchard. And people love snacks.
Work parties are great for people who have little or no gardening experience but love the idea of contributing and getting dirty in the process. It’s a family-friendly space. Our guest speaker is a pest management expert (aka BUG CRUSHING) with over 10 years’ experience, and will set our tone for the day. Then you’ll get trained up by our seasoned orchard members according to your experience and what you’re comfortable doing. At 1pm, we’ll end the day for lunch. Most of us like to bring a potluck item to share with others as a tradition of our work parties.
Please RSVP to this Facebook event and perhaps share in the comments what you’re thinking of bringing!
Breakdown of the day:
10 am: Volunteer sign-in
10:30am: Guest speaker Kristine Schlamp
11-1: Work to make our orchard ready for summer fruits!
1pm: Break for potluck
What to bring:
-Weather-appropriate clothes: this event is rain or shine.
-Water
-Potluck item/lunch with your own plate and cutlery (please label with ingredients so we can respect the needs of those with food concerns)
-Yourself! We would appreciate a donation of $20 through our annual membership program, which gives you access to workshops and tools, but we’ll appreciate your presence more!
Who is Kristine Schlamp?
Kristine Schlamp has been teaching apprenticeship and diploma courses in pest management at Kwantlen Polytechnic University for the last decade. She works with growers, scientists, front-line workers and the public to develop practical effective pest-management tactics. She is the coordinator of the Abbotsford Soil Conservation Association and also sits on several boards including FarmStart BC, a non-profit group that develops and delivers innovative programs to help establish a new generation of farmers. In addition, Kristine is Vice President of the Professional Pest Management Association of BC and Secretary of the BC Plant Protection Advisory Council.
Other Copley events
If you can’t make this work party but want to get involved, come meet the orchard folks on Weeding Wednesdays (7pm until the crows fly home to Burnaby) which is more low-key. Future work parties:
JULY Saturday, July 11
AUGUST Sunday, August 9
SEPTEMBER Saturday, September 12
OCTOBER Sunday, October 11