Brovold Community Orchard’s number
one objective is providing healthy and nutritious organic fruit to the community,
and we did that in spades this year. An equally important objective is doing
good things for our community’s kids, and we did that too. In fact, we set
records for both objectives in 2023, and that’s something we can all celebrate.
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Asian pears ready for harvest
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The fruit harvest began in late
August when our Asian pears ripened. The European pear varieties began to ripen
in late September, and the apples soon followed. The weather remained amazing
well into early fall, extending our harvest into the third week of October
before freezing temperatures and snow finally shut things down for the year.
Throughout this period, the public was invited to come to the orchard and pick
to their heart’s content, and pick they did. A steady stream of people, from
parents with babies just a few days old to citizens well into their senior
years filled buckets, bags, and boxes with apples and pears and left with big
smiles on their faces. We had attendants present this year to help people
navigate our new electric fence and show them which trees were ready to pick.
The expressions of appreciation and gratitude we received from orchard visitors
made our time spent helping them especially rewarding. Though we never charge
for fruit, many people left us donations, and that is a great blessing. Your
donations allow us to stay open and maintain the orchard. Thank you so much!
When all was said and done, over 6,700 pounds of fruit were harvested from the
orchard this year, and the lives of nearly 500 people, from Clinton to St.
Regis and all points in between, were touched by the nature’s bounty that
Brovold Community Orchard provides. We are proud to be a part of these
communities and happy that our efforts at the orchard can help so many people.
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School busses arrive
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The orchard has been hosting
school children for decades, but the number of children coming to visit has
increased rapidly in recent years. The first to visit this year was the
Alberton summer class that came in July to tour the orchard and learn a little
about how an orchard works. There were about 30 students and adults in this
group. Two busloads of about 100 kids and adults from DeSmet School in Missoula
visited in late September to pick apples and learn how to press them into sweet
apple cider. This was their second year of visiting the orchard. Next came a
group of 20 preschoolers and adults from Alberton Early Learning Center in
early October. It was a joy to see the little ones picking fruit off the trees
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Kids picking apples
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and eating it on the spot. Finally, 60 kids and adults from Alberton School
came a few days later to pick apples and make apple cider, a tradition they
established with the orchard’s founder, Norman Brovold, many years ago. We had
inquiries from other schools as far as 100 miles away, so we expect our program
of working with children will continue to rapidly increase in the years ahead.
We believe getting kids outside to interact with nature and learn where their
food comes from is important to their wellbeing and something that will benefit
them the rest of their lives. Young adults have told us that the times they visited
the orchard while in elementary school were some of the best days of their
lives. Knowing that we have those kinds of impacts on people’s lives is a big
reason why we do what we do at Brovold Community Orchard.
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A happy child
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If you haven’t visited the
orchard, we hope you will in 2024. We’re right on the east end of Alberton,
about a stone’s throw away from the skate park. We’ll be having volunteer work
days one Saturday per month again starting in April next year. That’s a good
way to see the orchard and get to know us. Watch for the dates on our Facebook
page or ask us to add you to our email list at brovoldorchard@gmail.com. If the
orchard blessed you in one way or another and you’d like to support our work by
making a donation, you may do so by clicking on the Donate button in the upper
right corner of this page. Thank you for being part of our community, and thank
you for supporting Brovold Community Orchard.
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