By ALEXANDRA LASKIE, The Weekly Times
January 17, 2018 12:00am
THEY arrived armed with ladders, crates and picking bags and made straight for the back of the cemetery.
There at the end of a long row of granite mausoleums were half a dozen nashi pear and apple trees dripping with fruit.
Dressed in T-shirts, shorts or slacks and sunglasses, the guerrilla gardeners set to work denuding the trees, filling crate after crate with green-skinned apples and crisp, sweet pears.
Few would know the Ballarat General Cemetery has about 70 thriving fruit trees, whose roots inconspicuously rub shoulders with legends of the Gold Rush and Eureka Stockade.
Until last year they bore fruit that would be left to fall and rot on the ground, or to be mulched by the cemetery’s caretakers.
But a newly formed group of Ballarat residents is seeing to it that their bounty is picked so it doesn’t go to waste. And the cemetery’s trees aren’t the only ones they’ve set their sights on.
“There are all these trees that have been planted by past generations fruiting away, apples and pears and plums, but they’re kind of invisible, people don’t really see them,” group co-founder Steve Burns says.
“In some cases they’re along residential streets or in backyards whose owners are a bit older, or families who are working long hours and don’t have time to do the harvesting or processing, so the fruit goes to waste.
“There’s already this huge orchard that’s ignored, it’s all around us.”
Inspired by a group of Castlemaine people who began harvesting backyard fruit trees and sharing the spoils in 2011, Steve and his daughter, Ellen, along with Kristine Thomas and Sandra Hawkins (all members of the Ballarat Permaculture Guild) formed The Hidden Orchard in February last year.
Berry good: Steve Burns picking a blackberry. Picture: ANDY ROGERSThe Hidden Orchard draws on volunteers to pick fruit from trees in backyards and public places then share it between anyone who helps in the harvest, the fruit tree owners and charities including UnitingCare Ballarat’s BreezeWay Meals Program, which supplies meals for the homeless and primary schools for breakfast clubs.
“It’s a really simple formula and very accessible — people get it straight away,” Steve says. “It’s a really easy idea to sell; this stuff goes to waste, the pickers should be able to share it with the tree owners, and we deliver 10-30kg of fruit (each harvest) to charities.”
They only pick when they have permission, relying instead on their website that allows fruit tree owners to register their tree for picking, or via their Facebook page.
People can also log a “neglected but bountiful tree” on public land, such as in a park or on a nature strip.
When they are notified a tree is ready for picking, one of The Hidden Orchard’s committee members puts the call-out for volunteers to harvest the fruit a few days later.
Ballarat General Cemetery’s chief executive Annie De Jong says she’s thrilled the fruit is being picked and shared, adding that caretakers have jumped on board and now prune the trees for fruit in anticipation of this year’s harvest.
“And next year we’re going to run sessions on how to prune fruit trees,” Annie says.
“We want to demystify cemeteries — using it as a public space is a great way to go about that.”
UnitingCare Ballarat crisis support co-ordinator Naomi Bailey says the meals program she runs doesn’t receive government funding so relies on donations such as fresh fruit to add to its meal packs.
“It’s sporadic and dependent upon the season and what they have left over (but) it makes a big difference, not just to our bottom line but to our clients’ health,” Naomi says.
“We provide 60 two-course meals every day of the year so donations of food are always welcome because we don’t have a plethora of cash to source those goods.
“These donations allow us to buy other things.”
While the concept is underpinned by a desire to stamp out food waste, there’s more to it than meets the eye.
“It’s like an iceberg,” says Steve, who runs the Ballarat Farmers’ Market. “The bit on top that people see is the fruit picking, but a really substantial bit that’s submerged is the social connection, the community building.
“Some people don’t even take any fruit home, it’s just a social outing but you’re picking fruit instead of sitting in a cafe.”
The group organises “cook-ups”, teaching skills they feel have skipped a generation including jam, lemon butter and chutney-making, olive-salting classes and cider workshops.
The group picks from more than 40 registered properties and has about 50 volunteers who have harvested more than a tonne of fruit. “We’ve been really surprised how much fruit is out there,” Steve says.
“I think as humans and stewards of the planet, we have a responsibility to be thoughtful about our waste.
“This is fruit that would have gone to waste but instead we’re passing it on to people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to it.”