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We are a young organisation born in August 2014 with the intention that one day locals can harvest, cook with shared recipes and then eat produce from the fruit trees they planted with their own hands. Our site is in the heart of White Gum Valley, Fremantle, adjacent to Hazel Orme Kindergarten.
In October 2019 we celebrated 5 years onsite and all our orchard in the ground and starting to produce delicious harvests. We have also negotiated another 5 year licence with City of Fremantle. To become a member, go to signup and be part of exciting grass-roots project. To find out more about our full vision, view our Youtube video and explore this website or Facebook (White Gum Valley Community Orchard).
Our Concept Plan
Anyone ever tried a fruit from the Davidson's Plum?! We look forward to taste testing it along with some white sapotes, mangoes, midyim berries, plums, macadamias...to name but a few of the many fruits and nuts we are now growing in the orchard. We have started to turn our dream into reality of community harvests and culinary gatherings centred on the produce we grow or within the neighbourhood. In January 2015, our skilled orchard member Zoe Williamson, led a workshop with the committee and interested members to design the placement of all our future trees according to sun, water and space requirements. The resulting concept plan isn't set in stone though. Our tree list will change over time as we learn more from each other and the saplings' success or otherwise. In October 2016 we planted our citrus grove and this marked a significant point in the establishment of the orchard, with the majority of trees now in the ground. In the summer of 2016-17 the first harvests began with bananas and tamarillos. We have been successful with two Federal Government Stronger Communities grants in 2016 and 2019/20 to co-fund our two built structures onsite - our glorious shed and picnic shelter. |
LATEST NEWS2021 Mulberry Harvest Festival - Oct 17th
2021 Olive Harvest - Sunday April 18th in Booyeembara
On Sunday 18th April our annual harvest was conducted in Booyeembara's productive olive grove and followed by a celebratory long-table lunch in the grove. It was a wonderful day and out of it 99L of beautiful oil to share.
Little Seed & Book Library comes to our Orchard Sunday Mar 28 2021 3-4:30pmEveryone welcome to this celebration Bring a book and/or seed packet to add to our new little library box to be mounted on our Mulberry Farm Lane fence. Thanks to Garvin from FreMan Shed for making it for us.
May 20, 2020: Breaking News!
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In 2017 we pressed 40Litres of oil and in 2018 with very ripe olives picked we had maximum oil content and 90Litres pressed and bottles for pickers and locals.
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We had a great Citrus Workshop, thanks to Peter Coppin and all of you who attended.
Been on site lately?
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We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (particularly the 'Whatjuk people of the Noongar nation) as the traditional custodians of this country and its waters. We wish to pay respects to the elders past and present and extend this to all Aboriginal people.
