For the 13th consecutive year, citizen collective Les Fruits Defendus spent a summer rich in urban harvests and the sharing of local fruits. This season was particularly favourable due to a mild winter, a warm spring, and an abundant flowering of fruit trees. Between June and October, we harvested over 5,000 kilograms of fruits, which were shared in equal parts between the owners of the fruit trees, the harvesters, and 33 local organizations working in food security.
We began our season by hosting our traditional spring blossom walk in the ruelles of Petite-Patrie as a part of Promenades de Jane, organized two workshops on tree pruning in the community gardens of The Dépôt in NDG, and advised 30 tree owners on pruning and tree care. In the summer, we pressed apples with Maison Robert-Bélanger at their annual harvest fair, set up our seventh equipment point for fruit harvesting, and organized a workshop on making crabapple jelly with Chic Resto Pop.
To close our season, we celebrated the Ginkgo Biloba tree in collaboration with La Coalition des Amis du Parc Jarry and Les Ami.es des Parcs, harvesting and tasting the nuts under the tree’s golden foliage. Thanks to our partnership with Jardin des Noix, we were able to glean and process black walnuts for the first time. This pilot project gave us almost four kg of nuts, making us very excited for future harvests of this abundant tree.
Alongside the many harvests and meetings this year, the collective has begun a process of transformation to ensure its long-term survival. After two years of reflection and consultation with our members, we have begun to formalize our structure by incorporating as a not-for-profit organisation (NPO). Still supported by Santropol Roulant as a trust, we are looking to the future, with the ambition of ensuring the autonomy of our operations and the sustainable development of our mission.
Stay tuned – there’s more to come in 2025, and we look forward to sharing the next steps with you!
Simone