Fruit Trees!

I have been working on trying to expand the UEPI garden to the lot behind rangeview. While this expansion is still the primary goal of our group, it is unrealistic that we will receive approval and be able to begin working with the space this semester. That being said, we are not giving up hope, but are thinking of other ways we can make the campus more sustainable with smaller expansions of the garden throughout campus.

This morning we met with Bruce Steele to discuss replacing the existing, inedible orange trees located in front of Haines. There are a variety of different types of orange trees that can be planted in the area, such as Pixie Tangerines, Blood Oranges, and Washington Navels, all of which will be tasty and edible. On both sides of the walkway to the steps of Haines, there are two grassy areas, surrounded by hedges that would be ideal spots to replace the existing fruit trees/plant new ones. We were also thinking of possibly putting picnic tables or benches in these areas, to create a space for students to hangout.

While we do not have the layout of the trees placement, we were thinking about 5-7 trees could fit on the larger lawn and 3 could fit on the smaller. One of the main problems we are anticipating with the proposal of this change is the removal of the grass. The grass would need to be replaced with some other type of ground covering, such as mulch or gravel or the more expensive option of brick.

Another problem we are anticipating is the issue of rodents, but covering the base of the tree trunks with a 1-foot length expandable metal duct can easily mitigate this. Additionally, the height of the trees may be an issue, as well as possible shading of the existing hedges, and installing drip irrigation.

Another location we are trying to plant fruit trees is behind Chilcott, by the edge of the grassy lawn. This location may be more realistic to change, as it isn’t as visible. There are multiple ways we could use this space, either to simply plant the trees into the existing ground not removing the lawn or removing about 4 feet of the lawn adjacent to the path. In either case, this space can serve as a trial to test the resiliency of the orange trees. We were also thinking of planting asparagus or some type of bulb on the other side of the handrail.

The cost of these trees is very minimal; the main issue is dealing with the irrigation and up-keep of the trees. It is possible that members of feast would have to take responsibility of watering the trees, which presents a problem during parts of the school year when most students are not present. Moreover, should FEAST take care of the trees, the responsibility would have to be passed down to new members when existing ones graduate.

Like Lily, prior to taking this class, I had never spent time in the Feast garden. Having a garden on campus is a unique opportunity most students at Oxy fail to take advantage of. Hopefully through transforming these areas, FEAST and the UEPI garden will gain more attention and support.

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