In one of his journal entries, American naturalist and philosopher Henry David Thoreau wondered if a child might pick “its first flower with an insight into its beauty and significance which the subsequent botanist never retains”. This quote came back to me as I watched a group of kids crowd around to see ten very scrawny one-year-old apple trees. With smiling faces, pushes to get a better look, waving hands to alert me of a pressing question and shouts of oohs and ahs, they apparently were not at all deterred by the tree’s dwarf size, poky bare branches and overwhelming industrial deer fences. So began the all day apple tree planting ceremony at Lakewood Elementary School in Durham on December 18th. It was a gray and cold day with a fine mist coming down that eventually turned into a steady drizzle. But despite the weather, teachers and kids alike all seemed eager to come outside, take a look at the trees and learn a little bit about them.

“Our playground sure does look a lot different”, one boy commented, watching as holes began to be dug into the grass that bordered the basketball and impromptu soccer area. I asked if any of them knew what was going on at their school that day and hands shot up. One girl in an over sized rain jacket shouted with a toothless grin, “We’re planting apple trees!”

In May of 2007, Slow Food Triangle along with The Center for Environmental Farming Systems and SEEDs, hosted a Farm to Fork Picnic at Chapel Hill Creamery honoring Slow Food International Founder Carlo Petrini’s visit to the triangle. The plan for the money raised from the event was to plant heirloom apple trees at a local school and was inspired by Lee Calhoun and his book Old Southern Apples. The idea was simple; to involve the kids with the planting while exposing them to the idea that apples do not originate in grocery stores. The drought delayed the project for eighteen months, but finally, last month, ten trees were bought from David Vernon’s Century Farm Orchard in Reidsville NC, which has been owned by his family for over a hundred years. His orchard specializes in the preservation of apples that were once widely grown in the southern US from the 1600s to the early 1900s. He grows over four hundred varieties of old southern apple trees, all of which continue to be good producers in the warm, humid climate of the south and bear fruit with distinctive qualities. After advice from both Lee and David, five different types of trees were purchased, – Yates, Kinnaird’s Choice, Virginia Beauty, Goldrush and King David. Elizabeth Newman and David Werlinger, two volunteers that manage and run a beautiful garden at the school, garnered the support of the teachers and principal, while helping to organize the planting ceremony.

The kids yelled guesses for how long it would take the trees to begin bearing fruit. I heard one month, one year, one hundred years, and many durations in between. Each grade expressed different interests and imparted their own unique knowledge about the trees. Kindergartners were concerned that lions would eat the trees, a group of fourth graders connected their study of pollination in science to how the trees produced fruit, while a fifth grader said even though they wouldn’t be at the school when the apples started to appear (it would take five years for the trees to begin producing), they hoped to visit so they could see how they would turn out. The fifth graders also took part in the planting itself, mixing dirt with limestone, digging holes, loosening the roots of the trees and measuring and recording their initial height.

At the end of their time outside, all the children got a High Country heirloom apple from Raven Rocks, distributed by Eastern Carolina Organics that were donated by Lantern. As they walked in line back to their classrooms, there was a definite celebratory feel to the day that overrode the gray sky. There was no need to explain to the kids why it was particularly neat or exciting that we were planting trees at their school – they just understood and had immediate faith in the project. As Thoreau also noted, “I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders”.

 
A big thanks to all of the generous help!

Landscaping and planting was donated by Michele of DeRose Garden and Landscape Company, a residential landscape design/build company specializing in the use of native plants, drought-tolerant plantings, gardening for wildlife, container gardens and stonework.

SEEDS, a non-profit community garden whose goal is to teach people to care for the earth, themselves and each other through a variety of garden-based programs.

Rachel Elliott, for the beautiful photographs taken.