North Amherst Community Farm Hopes to Start a Community Orchard
Photo: AI Generated with Google Gemini
The Board of Directors of the North Amherst Community Farm (NACF) has expressed interest in hosting a community orchard (or food forest) at the former site of Simple Gifts Farm. They have asked for a detailed plan and evidence of community interest before making this commitment.
Toward this end, the Amherst Community Orchard Project is inviting people to participate in designing the orchard as well as to volunteer to help with planting and orchard maintenance.
Are you interested in participating in this effort? If so, please contact John Root (root.john@aol.com or call 413-961-9059) and specify whether you’d like to help create the design (including species selection and a planting plan) and/or be a volunteer. Feel free to contact John Root if you have any questions.
A hexagonal tree-planting pattern — like the cells of a honey-comb — may not only be more aesthetically pleasing, but would also allow for several more trees on the site, more equitable solar access for each tree, and it would permit a better 3-way mowing plan to manage orchard grass — an important consideration in light of the close proximity this food forest has with the little creek just to its north. [And as an orchard-grower myself, and as one of the NACF founders over 20 years ago, of course I’d be happy to help John Root and his teammates with the details! :-)]