Log in


The LEAF Network is a community-based organization with the mission to link people with the benefits of edible trees and support edible trees with people’s stewardship.

Share and Celebrate the Bounty 

Click Here for a PDF of Share and Celebrate the Bounty

A productive lemon tree can yield 500 pounds of fruit in one season, a pomegranate 300 pounds and a grapefruit more than 1,000 pounds. Refrigerating, juicing, milling, grinding, zesting, canning, drying, dehydrating and other food preservation processes help you enjoy and feast on the harvest long after it is picked. There will often be more than enough food to share with family, friends and your community. Community relationships are strengthened by planting, harvesting and enjoying the bounty of edible trees together. Gleaning groups, food banks, churches and other community organizations can help you harvest your trees and distribute the nutritious produce to the benefit of many people. 

Cultural, historical and familial connections to edible trees bring history and people’s stories alive for children, elders and everyone in between, making trees the inspiration for celebrations at blossom time, harvest time and eating time. Native trees are important to many desert creatures, so share the bounty with native animals by lightly harvesting native trees in wild habitats and be sure you know who owns the property and have permission to harvest. 

As you grow trees at your own site and expand into new sites, remember the five core values: 

•Carefully select appropriate trees 

•Create resilient planting sites 

•Share the bounty 

•Work as a community to learn about, grow, harvest and celebrate edible trees 

•Prepare for the stewardship of trees that have long lives


Community calamondin lime harvest.



Musician adds to the festivities of a quince harvest celebration.


Community working together at harvest.



Community pear harvest.

Copyright 2022

LEAF is under the fiduciary stewardship of the Arizona Community Tree Council, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

70 S Val Vista Drive, Suite A3-186, Gilbert, AZ  85296





 

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software