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 Pickers are invited to register for 3 picks per season in the neighbourhoods they indicate interest in. Throughout the season, staff may override this limit (due to the pick time, location, or popularity), opening it up to folks who have already been on 3 picks. 
• 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.
• We have revisited our policy regarding youth on picks! For each individual pick, it is up to the Pick Leader to decide if youth under 16 will be allowed to attend. Pick Leaders might make this decision based on their comfort level with having kids present on the pick, or based on the pick location (e.g. size of backyard, potential hazards, etc), or any other reason that is relevant! If you register for a pick and you’d like to bring a child along, please contact the Pick Leader to ask if it would be appropriate to bring a child to the pick. Parents/guardians are reminded that any kids you bring to a pick (with the permission of the Pick Leader) are your responsibility to watch and take care of!
  • It’s wonderful that so many community members want to bring their little ones on picks to help them connect with nature and have some fruity fun! We thank you for working with us and our Pick Leaders to make sure that everyone involved has a great pick. As a reminder, any youth aged 16 or older must sign up as pickers in the portal, and must register to attend a pick.

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!