Join A Few Bad Apples for a hard cider tasting from 6-7pm, then from 7-9pm watch a screening of The Permaculture Orchard, a documentary that talks about how to design, plant, prune and manage pests in a holistic, beyond-organic permaculture fruit tree orchard featuring berries, herbs, and other annual and perennial edibles. Popcorn, light fare and beverages provided.

Registration is limited to 60 people. This event is free though donations are appreciated. All donations go back into our Giving Grove orchard program, which plants fruits and nuts throughout the County as well as offering training and support to orchard stewards to tend the plants. A portion of every harvest is donated to increase food security in our region. If you'd like to learn how to tend or plant an orchard in your community, or volunteer, email Kimberly at kimberly@treepittsburgh.org

A Few Bad Apples is a sustainable cider making organization whose mission is to utilize forgotten fruit for sustainable community cider making. Follow A Few Bad Apples on Facebook and Instagram (@afewbadapplescider) or visit their website to learn more about them.

Watch a trailer for "The Permaculture Orchard: Beyond Organic" and read more about it here or in the summary below.

Miracle Farms: Starting in 2007, five acres have been converted to a permaculture-inspired “u-pick” orchard. Plants, fruits and vegetables grown here include over 100 cultivars of apples, 18 cultivars of pears, asian pears, plums, cherries, peaches, paw-paws, hardy kiwi, grapes, mulberries, gooseberries, redcurrant, blackcurrant, saskatoon berries, raspberries, strawberries, and a whole range of herbs and perennial vegetables.

The orchard is designed to promote maximum diversity of plant, insect and animal species, with a special focus on creating habitat. This results in a high population of pollinators and other beneficial insects, as well as birds. Together they help control pests. Not only does this increase fruit yield, but it also greatly reduces the amount of maintenance work necessary, since a lot of it is being done by the eco-system itself.

We recognize the limitations of the organic model as a substitute to conventional fruit growing, and want to propose a more holistic, regenerative approach based on permaculture principles. Based on 20 years of applied theory and trial and error, biologist and educator Stefan Sobkowiak shares his experience transforming a conventional apple orchard into an abundance of biodiversity that virtually takes care of itself. The concepts, techniques and tips presented in this film will help you with your own project, whether it is just a few fruit trees in your urban backyard, or a full-scale multi-acre commercial orchard.