Hobsons Bay residents, including Rowena Joske and Wendy Clarke, are being encouraged to harvest and preserve fruit which would have otherwise gone to waste. 76817 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI
By NATALIE GALLENTI
GREEN thumbs across Hobsons Bay can now make use of home grown produce after the launch of a fruit tree harvest project by a local community group.
Transition Hobsons Bay is calling on residents to donate fruit that would otherwise go to waste and even attend fruit-preserving workshops, to enjoy summer fruit all year round.
Organiser Rowena Joske said the group initiated the project after it became aware there was a surplus of fruit in the area that was going to waste each year.
“People will often find that they’ve got a years’ supply of fruit growing in their backyard,” the Altona North resident said.
This month the group will be collecting stone fruits like peaches, plums, nectarines. Other fruit will be collected throughout the year.
Newport resident Wendy Clarke said it was unfortunate that an abundance of fruit remained unpicked at the end of each season and it equated to a “waste of good food and money”.
The group is calling on residents to donate their unwanted fruit and said anyone interested in attending fruit-preserving or bottling workshops can do so at no charge.
Fruit will also be distributed back into the community through food service groups that require fresh food donations.
The first fruit collection and bottling workshop will be held on 25 February at Walker Close Community Centre, Altona North.
