Fruit Tree Planting to Improve Food and Shade Access

What is the plan?

Thanks to the generous support of One Tree Planted, PFTP will be planting at least 150 fruit trees in low canopy areas of the city.

Approximately 50 trees will be a joint installation project with Mudbone Grown and will serve Black families for generations to come through Mudbone’s innovative programming.

The remaining 100+ trees will be planted in areas with tree equity scores below 75 - largely in East Portland. We are currently exploring joint programming with Friends of Trees as well as a part of the work they’ll be doing in the Cully neighborhood - stay tuned for details!

In addition to getting these trees in the ground, we’ll also be installing simple irrigation and providing three years of pruning and monitoring to ensure the success of the trees and their ongoing production.

Why is this so awesome?

Planting fruit trees is a way to get people excited about planting and caring for trees which addresses our city’s canopy loss as well as shade inequities and increasing food access. Through research done by Friends of Trees, APANO, and others, we know that communities - especially immigrant communities - are more excited about planting fruit trees than other types of trees. We also know that fruit trees, due to being smaller, can thrive is smaller spaces.

Areas of our city that have reduced access to shade, also have reduced access to fresh foods and are often “food deserts,” or “food mirages.” While fruit trees can’t solve access to grocery stores, they can increase access to fruit and to the many benefits of being in the garden/yard.

Want to help?

Keep an eye out on our events calendar for tree planting and site prep opportunities. If you’re in a low canopy area and are interested in planting fruit trees in your yard, you can fill out the form here.

This project, and others, often begin as grants, but they are able to survive long term thanks to the generosity of our Fruit Buds and other donors, and through hiring our tree care services.