By Pepper Parr
September 28, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
You know what those geese do – don’t you?
Geese on a church lawn getting ready for lunch.
Now imagine a flock of geese who discover a large collection of apples that have fallen to the ground. And picture a spot where there is space for those geese to walk around and not be bothered by a lot of people. Is there anything safer for geese than a church lawn?
All this has come together at St. Christopher`s church on Guelph Line just south of Prospect. The church provides the lawn, the neighbouring apartment building provides the apple trees – and the geese think they have died and gone to heaven – what with all those apples to dine on.
The geese do leave a lot of gooey stuff on the driveway into the church and the superintendent of the apartment building has said he would like to cut the trees down.
That brought Melissa Tervit into the picture. Ms Tervit heads up Growing and Sharing Food in Halton and she wasn`t on for the cutting of trees just because the apples were following to the ground and providing lunch for the geese.
All those “free fall” apples have attracted geese. Does that mean the trees have to come down?
I had an “interesting” chat with the property manager of the apartment buildings beside St. Christopher’s Anglican church yesterday while I was harvesting the apples from the trees, said Ms Tervit. He informed me that he intends to have the trees cut down later this week since the windfall apples are attracting too many geese. I suggested that he perhaps pick up the windfalls which would remove the lure for the geese. He wasn’t too keen on that idea, feeling that it was the fault of the trees directly that the geese were camping out on the driveway. He asked me if I had any power to stop him from cutting down the trees. I replied that I did not, however he may find himself the topic of an article in the Gazette.
Tervit wasn`t going to be deterred. She has found a group of Girl Guides who will gather up the apples, wash them up and get them to the Food Bank.
Will this arrangement work out? We will let you know. We`re still trying to get to that superintendent. You can never find those guys when you want them.
Looks like insanity prevailed once more in Burlington. From the photo in the Oct. 7th Ward 4 candidate debate article, it looks like the chain saw massacre occurred, even though the apples were being harvested. A shame.
Perhaps a follow-up article on this might be warranted. This one is well down the Gazette article history now.
I run the Halton Fruit Tree Project, a non profit program which harvests unwanted fruit and vegetables from local homes, and farms. We harvested the apples from these trees this season. The apples were virtually scab and insect free, and were the perfect size for school children to eat. Although many of the apples had already fallen on the ground due to the wind storms that we had earlier in September we still managed to pick 500 lbs which were donated to Refresh Food for Life.
These trees are healthy and viable. I think that with proper pruning they would not only thrive, but will continue to provide Burlington with a source of free, healthy fruit for years to come. Our volunteers, along with help from the Girl Guides are willing to harvest the fruit. All we need is someone to care for the trees, and pick up the windfalls so that the goose problem may be lesssened. (Though, I do think that the geese are as attracted to St. Christopher’s luscious front lawn as much as they are to the fallen fruit.)
There is a solution to be had that does not require what could possibly be a beautiful alley of heritage apple trees being cut down. That is a short sighted solution that the lack of a private tree bylaw in Burlington allows. Those trees could be original to the farm land prior to that apartment or even the nearby Burlington Mall being built so they deserve respect. I’ve seen apartment tenants and others in the community also eating those apples year over year. Let’s hope the leaders and larger community at St. Christopher’s (that already supports excellent food security programs) will be able to provide a better solution and come to a less extreme method of utilizing the apples and allowing the trees to remain a beautiful feature between the two properties.
Our family have harvested many “free fruits” over the 27 years we’ve lived here. Red & Black Raspberries, Saskatoon Berries, Quince, Apples and Pears. One year we found asparagus but that land was built on the following year.
When my daughter lived in Toronto she was part of a not for profit called Not Far From The Tree. Their volunteers make arrangements with property owners to harvest the fruit and a portion goes to the owner, (if they want it) a portion to the volunteers and a portion to local charities & food banks.
Perhaps Burlington should have a similar chapter.
https://notfarfromthetree.org/about
So typical of apartment superintendants. This is the second case of a superintendant chopping down trees because it adds extra work, in this case it’s apples that have to be raked up. I truly hope that bit of insanity is stopped. Go ahead remove what is a very calming effect to an apartment building. I don’t think the tenants will like that calming effect removed, so go ahead expose more concrete and asphalt, just what is needed more beautification by way of concrete and asphalt. Why on earth do apartment owners listen to the whining of superintendants who can’t be bothered with the extra time it takes them to do their jobs. It’s not the fault of the trees, it’s the fault of someone who doesn’t want to take the time to rake up the apples. Let’s hope sanity prevails and an arrangement can be made with St.Christophers, the Girl Guides and the food bank to have the fruit harvested and leave the trees alone.
Itis more obvious than ever that Burlington needs a law to protect its trees from people with poor judgment.
Maybe the next council will have more members who can understand that and GET IT DONE!
Terrific solution to call in the Girl Guides. Since the superintndant doesn’t seem fobd of adding more to his duties perhaps then it could be a good opportunity to create a short term paying job or two or a chance for school children to fullfiil the community service curriculum requirement.