Everyone knows that Thanksgiving is a time when family and friends get together for a time of fellowship and fun. It’s a time where the kitchen is the busiest room of the house and preparing the meal turns into something similar to an Olympic sport. Kids are running in and out, mothers and grandmothers are managing the preparations, sisters, daughters and aunts are passing along the traditions while catching up on the latest news from each other and you can’t forget the men of the house who occasionally sneak in a taste test or two. There’s no doubt about it, the kitchen will be full of activity. With so much going on, the Columbia-Richland Fire Department wants to remind you to be safe with a few holiday tips…..
Planting Ceremony for Free Fruit Tree Orchard A Huge Success
locally grown sources of fresh fruit by planting fruit tree orchards in deserving communities throughout the United States . The program is held annually.
The City of Columbia partnered with the Corporation for Economic Opportunity (CEO) to attempt to win a free orchard. CEO submitted an application to the Communities Take Root Program in March, 2011.
Communities Take Root, which is sponsored by Edy’s Fruit Bars and the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation, invited people across the United States to cast their vote to help twenty communities blossom, one orchard at a time. The voting process, which ran from April 15 – August 31, 2011, consisted of four rounds of casting ballots. Citizens were asked to go to www.CommunitiesTakeRoot.com to vote, once daily, for their community. The top five communities in each round were given a free fruit tree orchard.
Thousands of residents in the City of Columbia and the Midlands supported the effort and Columbia won in the second of four rounds of voting with a total of 25,202 votes!
On Saturday, November 5, city and community leaders gathered to celebrate the planting ceremony for the City’s first fruit tree orchard. The orchard is located at Owens Field Park , 1351 Jim Hamilton Blvd.
Before the ceremony began, the City of Columbia ’s Forestry & Beautification department prepared the site for the trees by digging holes with an auger – a machine used for drilling or digging. The Forestry & Beautification team dug the holes and checked to make sure they weren’t too deep for the fruit trees. The process took only about two hours.
Officials from the City of Columbia , Edy’s Fruit Bars, the Corporation for Economic Opportunity, the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation and Sustainable Midlands were joined by more than 60 local volunteers at the orchard site to plant 40 fruit trees that will provide free fruit for the citizens in our community. The planting ceremony for the community fruit tree orchard opened with a brief ceremony that began at 9:30 a.m.
Residents and volunteers were eager to plant the fruit trees and some citizens brought their whole family to the planting ceremony. Dan Huddleston, along with his wife and three children, traveled from northeast Richland County to help plant the fruit trees. He said, “I thought it was cool that we were going to have an orchard in our backyard so I decided to bring my family out to help with the planting.” Huddleston’s eight year-old son, Asher, enjoyed planting an apple tree saying, “It’s fun and I get to do it with my sisters, my Mom and Dad.”
After the planting ceremony, a potluck luncheon and more workshops were held at City Roots for the volunteers.
The following types of trees were planted in the orchard; Plum , figs, pomegranates, apple, pears, mulberry, blueberry bushes, kumquat, loquat, and persimmon
Our fruit orchard was funded and planted by Edy’s Fruit Bars with The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation.
About the Organizations:
Edy’s Fruit Bars is committed to a healthier way of living, and
providing delicious, all-natural frozen fruit treats is just one piece; partnering with the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation to develop the Communities Take Root program is another.
CEO is a nonprofit which seeks to enhance the economic status and quality of life in communities, using environmentally beneficial strategies.
The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to planting fruit trees to support healthy nutrition worldwide.
Sustainable Midlands: The mission of Sustainable Midlands is to foster and advocate for sustainable, healthy communities in the Midlands of South Carolina by providing education resources and facilitating communication among citizens, community leaders and other non-profit organizations
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