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“Life is a field of unlimited possiblilites.”
- Deepak Chopra
A deed dating back to 1955 lists my great grandfather Frank Atwood Good as the owner of a property on the outskirts of Fredericton New Brunswick. This deed states that F.A. Good’s intent was to subdivide the land into smaller residential lots. He had been running a small family business of tourist cabins surrounding the family house. He was a member of the New Brunswick Apple Growers Association and was very experienced at grafting trees. Frank A. Good never managed to subdivide this land and until recently neither has my father or grandfather. In February of this year, my parents bought the adjacent land of the late Audrey Good. Because these to two woodlots were too narrow neither has been developed. However, the two pieces together… thats another story.
The name we have chosen for this intentional community ‘One Tree Orchard’ was originally a creation of the late Frank Atwood Good (not to be mistaken with my father Frank Alexander Good). He had grafted one apple tree with every kind of apple that is grown in New Brunswick as a tribute to our provinces apple growing industry. There were over seventy different ’scion’ (grafted members) on this one tree. (I have postcards to prove it.) It became quite an attraction too. He was written up in Popular Science magazine and Ripley’s Believe it or Not. The tree stood prominently within the grounds of the tourist cabin business for many years. I can just imagine seeing a tree blossom year after year with seventy different kinds of apples on it. I wish it were still around today.
As a result of old Frank A. Good’s hobby, I’m sure you’ve already guessed it, my family is now world famous! I was personally drawn to ‘The One Tree Orchard’ for the name of our community for two reasons. Foremost, it gives historical relevance to the project. I love the story of that old tree and dedication that he had to maintaining a monument to such a wonderful industry. Secondly, it is a great symbol for the richness that can come from small efficient systems of all kinds. I have been reading a lot about permaculture in preparation for the design stage of this project. Permaculture, which is short for permanent agriculture, is, simply put, the opposite of monoculture. Monoculture is the model most commonly used in large agricultural systems. A monoculture is an agricultural system in which one crop is grown exclusively on one piece of ground and artificial fertilisers and chemical pest control are used to protect and expedite the isolated crop. Permaculture takes the approach that by growing many different crops and arranging them in mutually beneficial groups, pests can be managed effectively without the use of harmful chemicals. As I have researched this project I have learned so much about myself and my values. I hope to build a neighbourhood which will foster a community that looks to it’s own resources rather than outsourcing the basic staples of life. Our societies current model is based on outsourcing absolutely everything (even things that are available locally.) If you need food, buy it from a grocery store or better yet a restaurant. If you feel lonely, go to a club and meet someone. If you’re sad, take a drug. If you’re bored, turn on the TV. If you feel sick, don’t ask whether there’s something inherently wrong with this system, take another drug. Are your drugs making you feel sick? Take another drug. If you feel insecure, have some surgery. etc. etc. It’s a system that thrives upon looking for a symptom rather than a cause. And worse than that it is a system that promotes new symptoms.
That system doesn’t interest me anymore. I want to start thinking of community development, food production and healthy lifestyle as needs that can be met locally with efficient systems that foster individual independence as well as healthy community interdependence. The name ‘One Tree Orchard’ was chosen as a symbol of the bounty that can be found in ones own community.
