Redwood National and State Parks81쪽 중 34쪽
Preserving Historic Orchards at Redwood National and State Parks
2019 Orchard Workshop
Left image
Invasive vines cover one of the apple trees in the orchard.
Right image
Historic apple tree after participants removed vines and damaged branches.
Credit: NPS
In August 2019, the National Park Service held a training program at the Boyes Prairie Orchard, part of Redwood National and State Parks, on how to maintain historic orchards. Students from national parks around the country, California State Parks, US Forest Service, and historic orchard enthusiasts learned about pruning tools and techniques and were able to practice their newly learned skills by cleaning up the dead and damaged branches. They also removed invasive vines that had completely covered one of the apple trees. The skills learned at this training will help maintain and preserve the Boyes Prairie Orchard, and other old orchards throughout the country, for many more years to come.
Why Preserve Historic Orchards?
2019 Orchard Workshop at Boyes Prairie Orchard NPS
The question “Why preserve historic fruit and nut trees in national park sites?” has as many answers as apples on the tree. Some of those reasons are that fruit trees - especially the long-lived apple, pear, and olive species - are often the only remnants of former subsistence or agricultural uses of land by indigenous people or later settlers. Fruit trees gives us clues about how people used to live, and tell us a lot about the history of local cultures, environments, and socioeconomics. As products of horticulture with its own significant history, fruit trees also reflect horticultural trends from specific eras. Additionally, fruit orchards are repositories of genetic diversity of heirloom and rare varieties that may not be found anywhere else.
About thirty percent of National Park Service units have some historic fruit trees or orchards, and Redwood National and State Parks are no exception. There are at least nine orchards within the parks, and many individual fruit trees scattered throughout. Several interesting varieties of fruits exist in the largest two orchards in Redwood National and State Parks: Lyons Ranches Home Place Orchard in the Bald Hills, and the Boyes Prairie Orchard in the Elk Meadow area of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.
Site of Boyes Prairie Orchard, 1914 NPS
Learn More about Preserving Orchards
- Fruitful Legacy: A Historic Context of Orchards in the United States, with Technical Information for Registering Orchards in the National Register of Historic Places
- Historic Orchard and Fruit Tree Stabilization Handbook
- Lyons Ranches Historic District Cultural Landscape Inventory
Videos about the Historic Orchards
In these short episodes, different people share their passion and experiences with working to protect and manage historic orchards. These videos were filmed in August 2019 during a three-day training held at Boyes Prairie Orchard.
Historic Orchards: Wildlife Impacts
Redwood National Park's cultural landscape architect talks about how elk and bears can damage the parks' orchards.
Duration:4 minutes, 26 seconds
Historic Orchards: The View From The Top
The NPS Cultural Landscapes Program Manager talks about her work with historic orchard programs across the National Park Service.
Duration:2 minutes, 30 seconds
Historic Orchards: Why They Are Important
An NPS instructor from John Muir National Historic Site talks about why preserving orchards matters.
Duration:1 minute, 29 seconds
Historic Orchards: More Than History
An NPS instructor from Capitol Reef National Park talks about how historic orchards are relevant in today's society.
Duration:1 minute, 35 seconds
Historic Orchards: Not Just in National and State Parks
A student in the class - who is a US Forest Service employee - talks about protecting historic trees at his site.
Duration:2 minutes, 51 seconds
Walnut tree at Boyes Prairie Orchard NPS
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