What is a community orchard? It is simply an orchard that is not being managed for private profi t and is cared for by some community of people. The community orchard movement seems to have started in 1992 in England when Common Ground, a quirky arts/environmental group that aims to promote “local distinctiveness,” first put forward the idea. Th e idea quickly caught the public’s imagination, and now it’s a global phenomenon (see ATTRA article at https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/summaries/summary.php?pub=441). And we have them in Sarasota County too!

On Saturday, May 16, 2016, the Community Orchard at the Colonial Oaks Park will have a Family Festival event. Come learn all about backyard fruit trees and enjoy the many activities planned, such as:

1) Tour of the community orchard and information of planted fruit trees

2) Fruit tasting & nutritional information of eating fresh fruits.

3) Talks about the ‘Gleaning Backyard Fruit Trees’ program.

4) Free kids’ workshop building a bat or bird house—limited to one per family and to the first 40 families registered online

5) Dancing by the Clogging Clovers of the Sarasota County 4H Program

Here are the details of this event:

Date: May 21, 2016

Time: 8:30 a.m.—noon

Location: Colonial Oaks Park, 5300 Colonial Oaks Blvd., Sarasota, FL

Cost: Free !!

Registration: Online via Education Calendar at http://sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu

BRING YOUR WHOLE FAMILY and JOIN THE FUN !

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