Learn fruit tree pruning at urban mini-orchards

Learn a gardening skill – pruning fruit trees – while helping your community.

The Alchemist CDC is offering two free workshops, focusing on winter care for deciduous fruit trees. Participation is free for these hands-on events, but advance registration is necessary.

On Feb. 12, the workshop will be held at Oak Park Art Garden, 3834 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Sacramento. (Register here: https://bit.ly/3K6WKjU.) On Feb. 19, the pruners in training will tackle Mirasol Village Community Garden, 701 Pipevine St., Sacramento (just south of Richards Boulevard). (Sign up here: https://bit.ly/3YYYwIr.)

Both pruning workshops will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. More details are available (search for “fruit tree pruning”) via eventbrite.com.

“Learn the essential skills of winter fruit tree pruning at one of Sacramento’s community orchards,” say the organizers. “We’ll explore the craft of pruning, the tools that make it possible, and demonstrate the practice on fruit trees in the community orchard. We’ll also explore how urban agroforestry can play a significant role in enhancing the resilience of our urban ecosystems and communities to a changing climate.”

What is urban agroforestry? Growing (and managing) fruit trees in the city for residents to enjoy.

Dominic Allamano, an urban agroforester and experiential educator, will be the instructor for both workshops. According to his website bio, Allamano is working “at the intersection of urban food system repair, climate change adaptation and the long term re-connection of communities and the land they inhabit together.”

He worked for five years as the Edible City Coordinator at Soil Born Farms, developing an urban food forestry initiative that included the regional Harvest Sacramento fruit gleaning program, as well as garden building and fruit tree planting programs serving residents of South Sacramento, says his bio.

Focusing on food and nature, Alchemist Community Development Corporation is a fast-rising force for good in Sacramento-area neighborhoods – “connecting communities with land, food and opportunity.”

“Alchemist CDC is a mission-driven organization that connects Sacramento area communities to land, food, and opportunity toward a vision in which all neighborhoods are vibrant, equitable, healthy, and diverse,” according to the organization. “We are best known for enhancing the quality of life in under-resourced communities by improving access to nutritious foods, implementing community-supported public green spaces, and fostering economic self-sufficiency through business entrepreneurship.”

Details: https://alchemistcdc.org/.