HFS Orchard Workshops - Sun 1 and Wed 4 May

The next HFS Volunteer Workshops at the Petty's Orchard Heritage Fruit block will take place:

the first Sunday in May, 1 May
the first Wednesday, 4 May
the month's third Wednesday, 18 May

You're cordially invited to help us with:

Removing and store remaining bird netting
Doing checks on young trees in the plum and apricot collections
In the HFS Nursery:
- Clearing of the rear area of the nursery, to set up additional "bath" areas there
- Checking on status of trees and the irrigation cube
Mowing, weeding, whipper-snipping, hole-filling and removing blackberry plants
Preparation for our May burn-off
Beginning our annual tree pruning
Painting labels on trees

As usual, we'll set aside time for an enjoyable though socially-distanced chat over home-baked nibbles and cuppas. Please bring your own keep-cup to avoid generating unnecessary rubbish. We hope to see you soon!

WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE HFS BLOCK AT PETTY'S

Rediscovered old flyers about Pettys Orchard: We've recently been given copies of two fascinating old information pamphlets about Pettys Orchard: one created by MMBW (the old Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works) circa 1988, and another from its successor body Melbourne Parks and Waterways, from about 1992. We've put links to these onto our website here. The information in them gives fascinating (if perplexingly incomplete) insights into the state of our heritage orchard block shortly after its establishment in the early 1980s, and the amount of effort and support which clearly was put into it and the surrounding park areas at that time. They're well worth a read! But be aware that the information contained in these is very out-of-date ...

Visitors to Pettys might notice a slot on the side of the building (now the toilet block and equipment museum) with a sign saying: "Return Maps Here". This is doubtless a reference to a trail leaflet MMBW presumably published in 1989, as promised in their 1988 flyer mentioned above. Unfortunately, we've been unable to find a copy of this. We're pretty sure it would have described the walking trail through the forest near and around the "Wildlife Lake" area to the east of the orchard. Highlights of this area include a bird hide along the lake, numerous old and rare fruit trees, and more. A series of numbered reference posts still exist in there too, and this missing leaflet would surely have provided information about what was (and maybe still is) near those spots. So we have a request: if, by some chance, you have a copy of this old pamphlet, could you please let us know by email here? We'd love to make a copy available on our website, and possibly also post a QR code at the orchard which visitors could scan to see the leaflet on their smart devices.

COVID-19 NOTICE

Most long-standing COVID-19 restrictions have now been lifted, but nonetheless:

If you are feeling unwell - even with only mild symptoms - please protect yourself and others by doing the right thing and staying at home and getting tested
All volunteers should endeavour to maintain social distancing at all times
Please feel free to wear a mask if and when you wish