Increasing Equity in Access to Picks.

We have heard from many fruit pickers about the challenge of joining a fruit pick, especially as the registrations tend to fill up quickly. It’s very important to us that as many Torontonians as possible can join harvests!

• Pick hours are back to normal. Picks can be scheduled by Pick Leaders any day of the week, between 9am-9pm. Tree Registrants are asked to provide any scheduling restrictions during the Pick Request process.
• Fruit Pickers can now indicate which neighbourhoods they wish to receive invitations to join a pick in.
• Fruit Picker will be able to register for 3 fruit picks per season. For those who wish to pick more than 3 times per season, picks that happen before 4pm on weekdays have no registration limits!
• If a pick is full, Fruit Pickers can join a waitlist in case someone cancels. The Portal will text them when a spot opens up, reserving it for a limited time to allow for registration.
• All attendees of a Pick must be registered to attend. Youth between the ages of 16 and 18 can register to become a Fruit Picker, but must have their parent or guardian co-sign the registration. Over 18, anyone can register without parental or guardian consent. If you are a parent or guardian, and wish to bring a young person under 16 to a pick, you must first ask for permission from your Pick Leader, who has final say.

Preventing Bust Picks.

If you’ve ever joined a fruit pick, or registered a tree, you may have experienced picks where we’d arrive and discover that the fruit was overripe, the tree was diseased, or that critters had feasted on the harvest…the pick would have to be cancelled as a ‘bust’,  and it resulted in a disappointment for all involved. After a careful analysis (and generous feedback and advice), we have applied a number of program changes to prevent this disappointment from happening this season.

• We are asking Tree Registrants to submit Pick Requests within 3 weeks of peak ripeness. In analyzing our work last season, we realized that receiving a pick request any more than 3 weeks in advance was one of the major contributors to Bust Picks. By Tree Registrants keeping an eye on their fruit trees, and sharing these observations with us, we will be able to pick fruit at the time it is ripe, fresh, and good to eat and share!
• Following a Pick Request submission, volunteer Pick Leaders will reach out to Tree Registrants to confirm details from the Pick Request, ask any follow up questions, and schedule a Pick.  
• The Portal will be sending Tree Registrants automated reminders to request a pick when a fruit’s ripening season is approaching, with a guide to how to check for individual fruit ripeness.

Supporting Fruit Tree Health.

Over the past years, the Urban Orchard has experienced lower yields, fruit infected with pests, and a decrease in fruit tree registrations as trees are cut down or too diseased to produce.

We are hoping to grow our community’s attention to this, including updating the Tree Care Guides on our website and publishing monthly Healthy Harvest Habits to share teachings on tree care.

• We will not be able to pick fruit from trees infected with Fire Blight, Maggot Fly, or an abundance of Codling Moth.
• We are asking Tree Registrants to provide tree health information to the best of their ability when registering a tree and requesting a pick.

Our new Portal would not have been made possible without the generous support of our donors.

This includes anyone who has contributed volunteer hours, chipped in to our pre-season and winter fundraisers, or given monthly as part of the Roots Initiative. As well, a thank you to the Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation. 

We appreciate you peary much!