CDC Victoria continues its partnership with Parks Victoria in 2022 as well. This year we are supporting a stormwater harvesting project at Werribee Park Heritage Orchard.
This is an important project in the Werribee Park as it redirects well-needed stormwater to the orchards that nourish 400 fruit trees. These trees, some of which are heritage trees since the early 1800s, became an iconic landmark to local communities like the Sikhs and Karen communities, who harvest and distribute the fruits to disadvantaged local communities. These communities also united and created fruit packs that were then distributed to struggling households during the tough covid times. The orchard has a huge variety of peaches, apricots, cherries, apples, plums (Japanese and European), grapes, pears and many other fruits.
The project will see an upgrade in technology, used to pump the water currently collected from the mansion’s rooftops. It will save tens of thousands of dollars in flood repairs, support the ever-growing fruit orchard and help provide local communities with free, fresh and sustainable produce (all taken care of by the incredible volunteers at Werribee).
The Werribee Heritage Orchard has been maintained by volunteers restoring and preserving the Orchard on the river flat at the Werribee Park Mansion grounds from the 1870s, and every Friday is a volunteer day.
If you are interested in caring for the trees and nursey at the Werribee Park Heritage Orchard, register as a volunteer today!
Visit: https://werribeeparkheritageorchard.org.au/volunteer-registration
