Grovedale Community Orchard is celebrating 10 years of promoting sustainable practices and food security across the region.
Transition South Barwon will host a 10-year anniversary event for its main ongoing living project at the 31 Perrett Street orchard from 5.30pm to 9pm on Friday, November 22.
Secretary Mauricio Latino said people had helped transform a space into a community asset with many fruit and nitrogen-fixing trees, herbs, flowers and native plants.
“It’s great to see that the community embrace this project, and it’s well established now as we have trees that are yielding fruit,” he said.
“It’s been quite successful. It has also been really good for the community by having a positive impact on its growth.
“It started 10 years ago as empty land, and now there are a lot of established trees. It looks so different now and adds to the landscape of the reserve.”
Mr Latino said the anniversary event would feature guest speakers, live music, visual displays and a shared supper, with people encouraged to bring a plate to share.
“What I love the most about the orchard is that it’s open to everyone, it doesn’t have any fences, and the community really respect that space,” he said.
“It is something that when there is fruit, you can take the fruit home, and there’s a lot of knowledge sharing for people who don’t know much about fruit trees and gardening.
“The anniversary highlights the educational benefits that this place has and I’m excited to have this gathering to celebrate what we’ve been doing, and the people who have been doing it.”
The event is free, and people can secure a ticket at events.humanitix.com/grovedale-community-orchard-10-year-anniversary
