Lawrence Community Orchard is a “Free Food Park”, where anyone can pick ripe fruit. Lawrence Community Orchard(LCO) was established in the winter of 2011/2012. The land was made accessible by the City of Lawrence urban agriculture land leasing program, Common Ground. Implementation and maintenance has been possible only through the hard work of many dedicated volunteers.
The purpose of LCO is to;
- Demonstrate the efficacy of food production in public spaces utilizing perennial plants.
- Showcase less-maintenance tree crops suitable for northeast Kansas.
- Be a hands-on learning environment for organic orcharding.
- Produce free, healthful food for the community.
- Provide meaningful opportunities for neighborhood involvement.
- Act as a replicable model for future community orchards in Lawrence.
LCO occupies 1/3 acre in the Burroughs Creek corridor of East Lawrence. It is currently planted with 77 individual productive woody plants composed of 23 species. It also includes a fruit tree nursery, a timber frame kiosk, a rustic supply shed and botanical identification signs. It features many aspects of a food forest design with nitrogen fixing species and a layered productive canopy.
