5th ANNUAL APPLE PRUNING WORKSHOP 
AT THE HELEN AND SCOTT NEARING HOMESTEAD

 

HARBORSIDE, Maine. The Good Life Center's 5th annual apple pruning workshop will take place Sunday, April 6th, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine, at the Helen and Scott nearing Homestead on Cape Rosier in Brooksville. This coincides with fruit trees' dormant season which is the proper time to prune.

Founding workshop organizer and instructor Douglas N. Johnson will demonstrate pruning equipment and discuss pruning for aesthetics, restoration, and safety. He oversees tree management of the Nearing property, including the small orchard they planted in the 1980s. Johnson is a Maine-licensed arborist, ISA Certified Arborist, ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualified, and senior arborist with TREEKEEPERS LLC of Camden.

This year's special guest, orchardist Phil Norris, will describe his method of pruning for fruit trees on the Blue Hill Peninsula. Norris cares for his own orchard in East Blue Hill, leads fruit pruning workshops for MOFGA, and serves as Blue Hill's Tree Warden.

Attendees should bring bypass (not anvil) hand pruners and a lunch - beverage will be provided. There will be ample time for questions. Suggested donation is $18; pre-registration is recommended - contact Johnson at 207-236-6855. Workshop location is 372 Harborside Road, Brooksville.

The Good Life Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 1998 to preserve the stone buildings, library, garden, and legacy of social, political, and environmental activists Helen and Scott Nearing.