The creation of a "traditional orchard" in South Park has been announced by the Gdansk Roads and Greenery Authority, which is looking for a contractor for the project. This is the first such initiative in the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.
The urban fruit orchard will be an attraction of the South Park planned in the southwestern part of Gdansk. The latter is to be the largest park in the city after Reagan Park, and is being built on the basis of existing green infrastructure and retention reservoirs.
An attraction, but also a benefit
The plan is to plant 22 fruit trees (ten apple trees, four plum trees, three pear trees, three cherry trees and two cherry trees ) along a recreational path built in the spring. It's not just about landscape ornamentation and fresh fruit - although these are certainly assets of an urban orchard. In time, the historic varieties of fruit trees in the landscape will serve an important ecological function.
Concept of the Southern Park in Gdansk
© Gdansk City Hall
They will become a feeding ground for many species of birds, insects, amphibians, reptiles and small mammals. This will contribute to the biodiversity of the area. In addition, old varieties of fruit trees promote the development of beneficial entomofauna, i.e. insects found in the environment, producing pollen and nectar in abundance, and this in turn increases the number of wild pollinators , which are essential for the proper pollination of many crops , informsPatryk Rosiński of the Gdansk Road and Greenery Authority.
The contractor will have eight weeks to establish the orchard from the date of signing the contract. However, we won't see the effects right away.
In the initial phase, the trees will be small in size due to the fact that these types of varieties are only available at a relatively early stage of growth, and the more mature specimens are less able to withstand the moment of transplanting , says Patryk Rosiński.
In an interview with A&B, Katarzyna Rozmarynowska, an architect and urban planner, a specialist in landscape architecture and garden art history, stresses that an urban orchard is definitely a good idea.
This is how park paths can look like
© Gdansk City Hall
Well-integrated fruit trees in the park can make it more attractive. Of course, such an orchard needs to be beautifully designed: taking into account the individual forms of the trees, the colors of their flowers and leaves, as well as their appearance in different seasons. The city also has to take into account the cost of maintaining the orchard, but it should not be much higher than the maintenance of urban flowerbeds. A municipal orchard can have aesthetic, educational and recreational value, and serve as an attractive place for organizing various events, such as festivals or collective fruit picking actions. It will attract visitors ," he adds.
Urban orchards as scarce
Although we can find examples of such initiatives in the country, it is difficult to talk about a larger trend. Most often, urban orchard projects are submitted by residents as part of civic budgets. This was the case in Tychy, where in 2021 residents planted cherries, cherries, mirabelles, peaches, apple trees, different varieties of raspberries or blackberries, among others. Last year - also thanks to the civic budget - 81 fruit plants: trees and shrubs were planted by Mrągowo residents. Why are urban orchards - despite the benefits they provide - few in the country?
Masterplan of the South Park
© Gdansk City Hall
This is the aftermath of how we have approached greenery so far. We still have few greenery designers and successful examples in Poland ," believes Katarzyna Rozmarynowska.
