Mission. The Philadelphia Orchard Project plants and supports community orchards in the city of Philadelphia.
04/23/2025
In recognition of Earth Day, we are sharing some photos from last weekend’s planting of a new orchard at Penn Treaty Park in Fishtown! This collaborative planting was in partnership with Friends of and one of dozens of community orchards on property.
This site was designed by POP orchard coordinators Simone Shemshedini and Carolina Torres, under the guidance and mentorship of co-executive director Phil Forsyth. As with every POP community orchard, the design is a collaborative process with the partner, in this case the Friends of Penn Treaty. Harvests from this location, once the trees and bushes start to produce fruit, will be distributed via a partnership with
The orchard plantings add to the existing tree canopy, and will provide fruit for community members in need, and educational opportunities tied to the unique cultural history of the landscape. The “gateway garden” will enhance the area around the existing Bob Haozous statue with flowers and pollinator plants, helping to welcome visitors and passersby to the park: stay tuned for a fall planting when the pollinator garden will be installed!
All proposed plantings are native plants, selected for their ease of maintenance and their connection to the indigenous and colonial history of the site. The trees and shrubs planted last weekend include paw paw, juneberry, American hazelnut, beach plum, American persimmon, redbud, cranberry, elderberry, and spicebush.
The gateway garden and orchard are envisioned as an educational space, with opportunities to connect to other Penn Treaty Park programming, including Indigenous People’s Day celebrations and the Penn Treaty Museum.
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