PROPOSED PROJECT: BUILDING A FRUITFUL COMMUNITY

The project is entitled "Building a fruitful community." It is all about planting fruit-

bearing plants in the community. This project aims to encourage the youth to engage in

helping the community, and this builds community spirit and unity. Compared to other

forms of food-growing, fruit trees are relatively low-maintenance. Every youth in the

community is encouraged to join and plant one fruit-bearing tree in the public planting

areas. The fruit-bearing plants the community can choose from include bananas, oranges,

grapefruits, mandarins and limes, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kiwifruit and

passionfruit, watermelons, melons, and honeydew melons and avocados.

For the harvest season, limes, lemons, mandarins, tangerines, oranges, and grapefruit

should all start producing at around three years old. While bananas take 12 months to bear

their first fruit, dwarf apple trees will begin bearing fruit two to three years after planting,

watermelon takes between 70 and 100 days to go from planting to harvest, and avocado's

first fruit harvest three to four years after planting. Lastly, most melon varieties are ready

to be harvested 78 to 90 days after transplanting.

 During planting, the youths will choose what fruit they would like to plant. Second,

they will dig holes. Bare root trees don't need a huge hole. It just needs to be big enough

to hold the roots. They will dig only as deep as the seeds are long and then form a cone

of soil in the center of the hole over which the roots can play. The third is to place the tree.

For this step, it is helpful to have people. Hold the tree in place at soil level while fanning

the roots like an umbrella. Make sure the trunk of the tree is straight. Another person

backfills the hole with soil, building a solid foundation underneath the crown. Fourth, lightly

tamp down the ground with your foot to remove any air pockets. Fifth, measure a circle

around the tree, marking the expected mature width using sticks or flags. The tree's roots

will eventually extend to this point and perhaps even farther. Because of this, it will increase

success by improving the health of the soil inside this circle. For a weed blocker, spread

cardboard under the tree, overlapping the ends so the ground is thoroughly covered.

Lastly, until the fruit tree is established, water deeply (about 2 feet) every week and add a

3-inch layer of mulch to help maintain soil moisture.

 Growing a fruit tree in your backyard instead of the public planting areas is great, but

it's also essential to maintain it well. Ensuring the tree is always healthy, you can keep it in

the best condition, prevent it against various threats and diseases, and reap the most

delicious and juicy fruits.

I have chosen this project because planting fruit trees can help the community not

only with the scarcity of food but to help the environment. A healthy planet and life are

rights for everyone, not just the privileged few. Planting fruit fights for a cleaner, greener,

and more sustainable future for all. Moreover, it strengthens the natural environment by

planting fruit trees that do not require pesticides and that will prevent soil erosion and

desertification.

I am also interested in this project because planting can bring people together and

help educate communities about the vital importance of trees and inspire people to

become stewards of our green environment. When we get people together to improve

the community, we are building community. It amazes me how people at our events share

experiences, form friendships, and are inspired to take action to improve their
neighborhood, learn about green jobs, and teach them to be good environmental

stewards of the land. Lastly, the reason I am interested in choosing this project is that I was

inspired by the Chinese proverb saying, "When is the best time to plant a tree? Twenty

years ago. When is the second-best time? Today."

The benefits of this project are planted so everyone can benefit from them. When

you grow your own fruit, you can use natural, organic products for pest control to avoid

coating your food with chemicals. The fruits also would not be sprayed with preservatives

or waxes to extend their shelf life, like a lot of supermarket produce. The fruit plants will

support cleaner air, water, food, and social impact for families. It's a humble offering that

can have a ripple effect of benefits for years to come. They also restore damaged

ecosystems, improve and stabilize soil, support the water cycle, and slowly recover the vital

ecosystem services we depend on. These benefits combine to reduce the effects of climate

change powerfully because planting trees decreases your carbon footprint. It is not a

surprise that planting trees helps the environment since they absorb co2 emissions from

the atmosphere and convert it all into fresh, clean oxygen.

 Furthermore, these fruit-bearing plants will feed and protect our local wildlife. It offers

a safe refuge for birds, squirrels, insects, and other critters necessary for maintaining the

ecological balance of our places. A single tree can produce several hundred fruits in one

year, so you'll have plenty to share. The minimal effort required to plant and maintain a

tree is well worth the delicious fruit and many other convenient perks.

Trees greatly benefit the people living around them by having a positive impact on

mental health and well-being, reducing stress, and encouraging outdoor exercise. This is

in addition to the benefits they will receive from the improved environmental quality and

improved amenities which come with planted areas. Lastly, the benefit that I can get from

this project is satisfaction because there is just something so satisfying about eating

something you have grown yourself.

Like how Christians take care of their bodies because it is the temple of god, people

in the community should take care of their community that god had blessed them. Part of

our mission is to look for each other; through planting, we help one another, so no one

gets left behind. Moreover, this project shows how patient we are willing to wait and
strengthen our faith because the harvest of the fruits will take a long time, like how our

mission requires patience and trust in god. After all, our mission needs time to be fulfilled.

Moreover, the project shows kindness, and showing kindness is a way of showing love, and

Christians are to serve others with kindness and success. We do not live only for ourselves;

we are called to serve the world and to reach out to those different from us. Like how this

project is not only to benefit the one who planted the fruits but also other people who

need food and are poor.

REFERENCES:

 Environmental & social benefits of tree planting. (2018).https://www.iie.u

k.com/news/environmental-social-benefits-of-tree-planting/.

 6 REASONS TO PLANT FRUIT TREES. (n.d.) https://www.theorchardproject.org.uk

/blog/six-reasons-to-plant-fruit-trees/.
 Weeden, M. (2020).ANNOUNCING 500,000 FRUIT TREES REFORESTATION

PROJECT IN INDIA. https://onetreeplanted.org/blogs/stories/fruit-trees-

reforestation-india.