Welland Orchard Tour

Whether you are a regular park visitor, or have never heard of Welland Orchard before, come out and explore with a guided 1 hour tour of this incredible community resource. Learn about some of the 100 + heritage apple varieties planted in the orchard, as well as some fruit trees abnd vines you may have never heard of before such as plout and medlar! Plus learn about the interesting features on site including rainwater collection, pollinator habitat and native plant gardens.

The tour will be followed by a Welland Orchard Work Party from 1pm-3-pm. If you plan to attend both, feel free to bring a lunch and enjoy a pinic in the orchard. Sign up and find out more details on the Gleaning Hub at https://gleaning.lifecyclesproject.ca

As there is limited parking available at the orchard, please bike, walk, bus or carpool if possible. We are located right on the galloping goose, and you are welcome to bring bikes into the orchard to lock them up safely!

If you are driving, there are 8 parking spots located at the end of Stancil Lane, 2 of which will be reserved as accessible spots. Please be mindful of our neighbours and do not park in the large driveway on the south side of the street. Additional parking can be found along the street on High St and Eaton Ave.

About the Instructor

River (they/them) works for Lifecycles Project as the Welland Orchard Coordinator, as well as running their own landscaping business, Nightingale Gardens. They are passionate about increasing the resilience of urban and suburban landscapes through utilising plants native to these territories, increasing food security through integrating edible perennials and fruit trees into the landscape, and helping to increase connections to land through making gardening more possible and accessible.
Their background is in agriculture, with five seasons spent working on small-scale organic farms, as well as a Landscape Horticulture Certificate (Red Seal levels 1 and 2) from the Pacific Horticulture College. They have also spent several years facilitating group learning and activities, for both kids and adults, in a variety of environments.
Their family is primarily from Ireland, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and England. They were raised on kʷikʷəƛ̓əm territories (Coquitlam BC) and have been living on W̱SÁNEĆ and lək̓ʷəŋən territories for the past 10 years. Their work is grounded in intersectional queer feminism, disability justice, and decolonization. They are queer, trans, and neurodivergent and have a lifelong love of fruit trees.

This workshop is in person only. Please dress appropriately for all types of weather, as the workshop will be hosted outside in the orchard.

Tickets are avalible by a suggested donation of $10/person.

Please contact us if you are no longer able to attend but hold a ticket so we can make your space available to someone else and work to process your refund.

You can also register for the event by calling our office at 250 383-5800 or via email by contacting [email protected]

The Welland Legacy Part & Community Orchard site is accessible from the Galloping Goose Trail as well as from the parking area on Stacil Lane. Coming up from the Galloping Goose there is a steep wood chip path that then levels out once in the Park itself. Access from the parking area is along a sloped gravel path that levels out closer to the workshop area.

There is a single-stall gender neutral composting toilet facility on site that includes ramp access.

There is a rest area with pincic tables to sit at. The tour will include moving over some unever ground as we explore the orchard and will take place in both sun and dappled shade. We suggest bringing a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen.

There is access to potable water on site. Please bring your own water bottle.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Welland Legacy Park & Community Orchard, 1215 Stancil Lane, Victoria, Canada