In examining the community orchard, I am struck by how the concepts of care and managements fold together or overlay. We establish an orchard management plan to guild what happens at workdays. Is a component of that work care? Or is a principle of care guiding how we manage? If we manage our fields but care for our lawns, can we distinguish the two by a professional (managerial) and personal (caring, potentially affectionate) divide or continuum? If so, what happens to the lawn? In “caring” for the concept of the lawn, we do violence against the species that comprise it–and so, it seems, breaking down the language of our action can highlight the thing–species, concept, construct–we aim to uphold. I hope to keep this in mind as my analysis of the language and practice of the community orchard unfolds.
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Earlier this week, I learned that my most recent article is out, with early online access. The piece will later be found in a special issue of Geographical Review dedicated entirely to methods in geography. I’m eager to see the other pieces and excited to share this, as it is my first solo-authored publication. This piece is also a first look at my dissertation project, which uses multispecies methods to examine community orchard projects as sites of community formation and space for building new understandings of nature.
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For years, the Orchard has come close to having a large crop of peaches only to have them vanish just before harvesting. The story didn't seem to line up for Orchard volunteers or others to come in and snag them, and no one had shared news of enjoying a harvest--something folks aren't shy to do. So, what creature was snagging the fruit? See the post to find out.
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