PORTLAND, Maine — Did you know Portland is home to a public orchard?
At Mt. Joy Orchard, you can quite literally walk up to a fruit tree, grab a snack, and continue on your way. It's nestled between Washington Avenue and North Street in the city's East End in the Munjoy Hill area.
The orchard was originally started by the city of Portland. But for the past 10 years, volunteers like Kristen Sheehy have been tending to the land.
"The arborist and the mayor at the time really wanted there to be like a public orchard, and it was just going to be apples, but they didn't have the staff to take care of it," Sheehy said. "I was like, 'I'll help you mulch, but can we plant things around the trees?' I have a good friend ... He's a teacher of permaculture, and he has his own nursery. And he was like, 'Oh, we could also plant more trees.'"
The orchard started out with just four trees. Now there are more than 100 trees bearing a variety of fruit.
There is even a walnut tree.
You can apples, peaches, cherries, plums, nectarines, and so much more.
If you're in the market for spices, you can grab some fresh oregano or mint.
Juliana Beecher is also a volunteer. She heard about the orchard from a friend.
"I've only been in Portland for a little over a year," Beecher said. "I'd heard from him about the orchard, and it just sounded like such a special place and such an amazing community resource."
Beecher said the land the orchard is on has an interesting backstory of its own.
"Unlike pretty much the rest of the peninsula that Portland is on, this particular hillside has never been developed since pre-colonial times, since the Wabanaki were stewarding this land," Beecher said.
Every year something new is added. For example, this year low- and highbush blueberries were planted.
Sheehy said volunteers are to thank for the diversity in the orchard.
"We've had folks whose passion were meadows, and so they were like, 'Let's bring in wildflowers to diversify the meadow,'" Sheehy said. "And then we have herbalists who are really excited to be able to do herb walks."
Looking back at where it started to the present day, Sheehy described the journey as unreal.
"It's been so effective as like a community project," Sheehy said.
Mt. Joy organizers are hosting an apple cider press event sometime in October. The date is still to be determined.
If you're interested in volunteering, there are a few volunteer workdays left this year:
- 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 14
- 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26
- 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 12
- 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24
You can find more information about the Mt. Joy Orchard at https://mountjoyorchard.wixsite.com/mtjoy.