New initiative blooms in Wilmot Park

Fredericton launches "fruit forest" as pilot project in green space for residents, wildlife

The City of Fredericton has added a new amenity to Wilmot Park alongside the tennis courts, splash pad and refurbished gazebo: snacks.

The municipality announced that parks staff and volunteers completed planting at the downtown park of assorted fruit trees to establish what it dubs its “fruit forest,” a pilot program meant to be sustainable and accessible to all.

At left, city parks staff and youth volunteers with the Multicultural Association of Fredericton plant a fruit-bearing tree and herb plants in Wilmot Park recently. At right is one of the fruit-forest installations. (Photos: Submitted/City of Fredericton)

“The park now features trees that will grow into full-sized, fruit-bearing trees, with smaller edible herbs planted around their base, all for residents to enjoy and harvest,” the city said in a news release.

Victoria Cray-Brown, a forestry and horticultural technician with the City of Fredericton who headed up the pilot project, said “food forests” aren’t new, but the concept is new to urban environments and city planning.