In the fall, as the nights turn colder, our local apples ripen on the tree and eventually fall to the ground. Fortunately, Wildsight has a solution to help locals make use of the local bounty of apples before they become a mess and a wildlife attractant. It’s called the Apple Capture Project and it includes juicing, saucing, picking, and dehydrating equipment that Wildsight loans out free of charge in Kimberley and Cranbrook, a tree share board, and community juicing days. Wildsight’s next community juicing day is a special Thanksgiving celebration this weekend, Saturday Oct 11th. "Join us for a community apple picking from 10am to 1pm, followed by juice pressing from 1pm to 3pm," said Wildsight’s Sonja Seher, "or if you want to bring your own apples to juice or just see how it all works, drop by between 1pm and 3pm." The juicing event takes place in Cranbrook at the Public Produce Garden (6th Ave and 18th St. N). "Kids love watching the juicing process and even helping out," said Wildsight’s Lars Sander-Green, "and we are happy to share a cup of fresh juice with anyone who stops by." "Remember to bring containers to bring home your share of the juice!" added Seher. You don’t need to join a community juicing day to use the harvest and food preservation equipment. Everyone can sign up online at wildsight.ca/apples for Wildsight’s equipment booking system and can pick up equipment at any time. "Between Kimberley and Cranbrook, we have five apple juice presses, four large dehydrators, three sauce makers, two twelve-foot orchard ladders and two smaller ladders, plenty of picking bags, pole pickers and extension pickers, and a set of pruning equipment," said Sander-Green, "so you can access everything you need to pick apples and make apple juice, apple sauce, and dried apple rings." And if you don’t have any apples, Wildsight maintains a tree share board where locals can post their tree to share with others or connect with someone who has too many apples. Anyone who has excess fruit or who spots an untended tree on public property can share the information at www.wildsight.ca/apples or call 250 427 2535 x 2. "We started the Apple Capture Project four years ago in Kimberley and since then we’ve grown every year," said Sander-Green, "and we have noticed a real decrease in local apples rotting on the ground and attracting wildlife – and an increase in happy locals stocking their freezers and cupboards with local apple products." "We are especially pleased to see school and other youth groups using the apple juice presses and learning a bit about how juice is made and about the local food we have available," added Sander-Green. More information on Wildsight’s Apple Capture Project is available at www.wildsight.ca/apples or by dropping by the community juicing day this Saturday to see apple juicing in person.
