Living in Technicolor

The ReTreeUS Farm - our "Emerald City"

Spring has always been my favorite season. Like the film The Wizard of Oz, it's a time when the black and white shades of winter suddenly lift to reveal a Technicolor dream world--only it's real. And as we dive into planting orchards with vibrant, smiling kids, the Emerald City comes alive more than ever.

Fifth graders transform what was a rather lifeless zone in front of their rural Maine school  into a large orchard and outdoor classroom. The foresight and support of their teachers and community were an essential part of the process.

On May 2nd, we finished planting our last orchard of the school year, bringing our total to eight educational orchards in the past two years. Participating students range in age from 2 to 18 years old, and we are often joined by community volunteers and teachers aged 24 to 74.

High school students near the coast plant a peach tree in the large orchard they helped add to their already-active school garden space. Many thanks to volunteers from FoodCorps Maine and the Good Tern Food Coop, as well as supportive teachers from the school.

Everyone loves to be involved! Working together on this inspiring project, planting food-producing trees for themselves and future generations, students feel something deep within them spring to life as well--before our eyes, their connection with the earth and with each other changes from black and white to color.

To be sure, this enlivened connection is an invaluable benefit of the ReTreeUS program. Alongside the innumerable other benefits of a school-based agriculture program (e.g. increased academic and social skills), ReTreeUS receives the benefit of a thousand enthusiastic helpers--making it happen in a way that we could not do alone. We thank the students, staff and communities who rallied to make this year's orchards a success.

This young gardener came with his mother and sister to help ReTreeUS plant a partnership orchard at Wolfe's Neck Farm.

When a thoughtful third grader placed her four-leaf clover in the hole with the tree she planted, when the high school senior's shoes got so muddy from a day of planting that he took them off and watered the trees barefoot, when the two-year-old adopted a new favorite word: "Compost!", when the fifth graders shared the shovel even when they didn't want to, we knew that we were leaving these trees in the best of care.

If this story brings a little more Technicolor to your life, you can join our many supporters by becoming a member, or apply for your own school orchard today!

Spring is Sprouting

As a naturalist, farmer, and yogini, I tend to draw parallels between the seasons of wildlife and forests, our fields, and our bodies, minds and spirits. The natural world is our greatest teacher, showing us what to do for our crops, as well as how to take care of our selves--and we are then again nourished by nature and farming.

Winters at ReTreeUS are spent in semi-hibernation--we rest our bodies with all the other animals, while simultaneously gearing up for the growing season ahead. When we follow and flow with the natural rhythms around us, winter allows for--and often even yields--as many "crops" as the last year's summer season!

In mid-winter, ReTreeUS Co-founder Richard Hodges met with students at Durham Community School, who were charged by Jumpstart Our Youth with the mission of voting for their favorite local non-profit. The group who received the most votes would then receive JOY Grant funding from Jobs for Maine Graduates. Last month, we were honored to receive the news that DCS students voted for ReTreeUS! Now, we look forward to working with those same students at Wolfe's Neck Farm, where ReTreeUS is installing our first partnership orchard this spring. 

All this new support has enabled and inspired us to start our seedlings earlier this year. Our brassicas are sprouting up nicely in the reused/recycled egg carton containers you see here:

Reuse your egg cartons as seed-starting vessels. You'll save money and our planet! 

Next week, we will construct a hoop house where these baby plants will grow until they're ready to transplant into soil and/or find a new home through our farm stand. We encourage our participating students, members (and everyone!) to incorporate greens like these into every meal!

Find our greens in Durham, Maine, and find easy ways to enjoy them by looking at ReTreeUS recipes in our older blog posts. In addition, one way to find recipes for green smoothies is by following Freeport Yoga Company on facebook.

And so it comes full-circle. We rest and restore in winter, then shed cold and heaviness as we welcome spring. Eating nourishing, chemical-free produce can help us do that! ReTreeUS makes organic food more accessible to people of all income levels. And when humans are well-fed and nourished, the earth thanks us, too. To find out more about ReTreeUS food, visit www.retreeus.org.

We wish you all a light and healthy spring!

Warming Up

We ReTreeUS co-founders love indulging in homemade pizza and music, but nothing warmed us up this winter like feeling the love from our community. Last week, we gathered friends and ReTreeUS members for our first Androscoggin Open Mic. The plan was to play and listen to music, serve pizza...and spread the word about our goals and accomplishments thus far.

Setting the stage for the evening, and for a great year to come!

Though the road conditions were less than ideal, heavy snow held off long enough--and friends were enthusiastic enough--to fill the room with musicians, pizza-lovers, and many who appreciated the ReTreeUS message enough to join or renew their membership.

Attendees watched a slideshow of pictures from last year's orchard plantings and educational programs and heard our plans for the coming year. We are warming up our community, and warming up for the spring to come.

Friends enjoy creating music as we warm up the winter.

This week, we will meet with Wolfe's Neck Farm to decide the location of their partnership orchard to be planted along with another four school orchards in Denmark, Rockland, and Freeport this April.

In addition, our home orchard program is taking off! We've added a few clients interested in donating $200 to have three mature fruit trees planted in their yard.* This is a great way for us to promote sustainability for families, the planet, and for our organization. Those investing in a small home orchard not only support our programs, but also ensure that we can continue planting school orchards at no charge.

We're warming up for the exciting work (read: workout) of growing a healthier planet again this year. Join us at www.retreeus.org!

*Add $100 to the home orchard investment for each additional tree.

Resolution Solution

It may still be mid-winter in Maine, but ReTreeUS is already gearing up for another year of tree and vegetable growth! With any luck, our exciting plans will align with your New Year's resolutions to improve the health of your body and the planet in 2013.

After planting four school orchards and 1,000 trees in 2012, we plan to focus our attention this year on four more school orchards and a full-fledged farm! Visit our farm stand and fruit shack in Durham, Maine for produce and fruit tree saplings which will beautify your home and provide quality produce such as apples, plums and pears for many years to come.

For local supporters, now is the time to contact us to sign up for a share or learn more about the ReTreeUS Fruit Shack.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year! We hope to see you in Durham in the summer!