Picture plump, purple plums — or figs, pears, or apples — filling the hands of first time harvesters. Imagine harvest parties, not with just a few casually picked plums, but over 1.5 tons of tree fruit, picked courtesy of Portland Fruit Tree Project (PFTP). Most of that fruit would have gone to waste without the efforts of this new, all-volunteer city fruit tree effort.

PFTP, begun in 2006, was the brainchild of Katy Kolker, who described the beginning, saying, "As an AmeriCorps volunteer, I was working with Growing Gardens and got to know low-income folks. I also saw fruit in the streets that no one wanted. It seemed obvious to try to connect the two." So that's what she did. Fellow AmeriCorps volunteer Sara Cogan joined Kolker in the early days. In the second year, Megan McCoy joined the project, and more recently, Glin Varco has also signed on. Glin's position on the Board of Home Orchard Society will strengthen a connection with another fruit-focused local organization.

Initially, their vision was focused on their own neighborhood, where they pictured neighbors getting to know each other through the focus on local fruit trees. People who needed help with their fruit trees were matched with enthusiastic pickers and pruners, to the benefit of all.

PFTP approaches city fruit with a comprehensive, year-round perspective. That includes the needs of tree owners, the seasonal needs of trees for pruning and harvesting, and the interests of those without their own trees who are willing to work.

To learn more about how working together to save fruit brings people closer together to natural cycles and human relationships, buy the March/April edition of Touch the Soil magazine at a retail outlet or subscribe online.