In the midst of an orchard

Made with Google Earth, 10/11/06 Here is my first attempt at a local "fallen fruit" map. I have mapped eight sites in Berkeley, three of which are in the public domain: the fig and apple tree at Halcyon Commons, the apple tree at Bowditch and Haste (People's Park), and the apple tree at 2329 Carleton (it is in the sidewalk nature strip). The remaining fruit trees are located on private property but the fruit does fall into and/or hang over the public domain. The fallen fruit or public fruit concept was developed by Fallen Fruit, an "activist art project" located in Los Angeles. The group encourages the mapping of public fruit locations across the country. Currently, there are four public fruit maps on fallenfruit.org. The site also offers a how-to sheet for mapping public fruit. I am familiar with several other organizations that focus on fruit. The Big Backyard Project is a "crop-sharing" program that collects surplus fruits and vegetables from yards in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland, CA. The project is sponsored by Temescal Amity Works. Another local fruit organization is Village Harvest. Village Harvest also collects surplus fruit from yards, but the organization's primary partners are food banks located in the Santa Clara Valley. Outside the Bay Area, EarthWorks Projects in Boston runs an Urban Orchards Program using several sites throughout the city. Sites include a historic orchard in a city park, an orchard located in a public housing neighborhood, a schoolyard orchard, and an orchard within an urban wild. A list of orchard sites is available online. For a geographic database of farms, farmers' markets, and CSAs, check out Local Harvest.