Each September is a busy month for the collective. Apples, pears, grapes, and plums all become ripe for picking around this time. Homeowners who share their trees and vines with us, get in touch and thanks to our network of pick leaders and harvesters we’re able to harvest and save so much urban fruit. Huge thanks to everyone who makes local fruit harvesting possible.
So far this year we’ve harvested 1700 lbs / 770 kg of apples, pears, plums, and grapes from homeowners across the city and have donated 920 lbs to 12 beneficiary organizations working in food security across Montreal.
Sharing knowledge and promoting urban fruit harvesting
Did you know that the collective Les Fruits défendus also shares its knowledge with the community? This year, we continued our collaboration with the École d’été en agriculture urbaine with the goal of encouraging urban fruit harvesting with the students. We once again picked at the orchard located in the gardens of the old Hôtel-Dieu.
To increase our reach in the Sud-Ouest and Verdun, we set up an equipment point in Pointe-Saint-Charles with Share the Warmth to offer more opportunities in that neighborhood for our members. And recently, we collaborated with the GRAME, where we helped to facilitate a harvest with the goal of reviving the old orchard situated at La Maison Mère des Soeurs de Sainte-Anne in Lachine.
The season is not over yet and mark your calendars for our end of season party happening in November. Visit our Facebook page in mid-October for more information.