Community Orchard Care Day Helps Benton Street Grow

One year after the first fruit trees were planted at the Benton Street Community Orchard, neighbors came together once again to help the space continue to grow.

As part of our Nuestros Bosques Forest Care Days series, volunteers spent the morning learning about the orchard’s story, caring for the plants already thriving there, and adding new species that will make the space healthier, more diverse, and more productive for years to come.

Together, the group weeded the entire orchard, spread fresh mulch, pruned dead branches, built a new perennial wildflower bed, and planted edible, medicinal, and native species that will support both people and wildlife.

Among the new additions were sweet fern, whose fragrant leaves can be brewed into tea and have long been used to soothe the skin; wild strawberry, a native groundcover that produces small but delicious berries; and common yarrow, a hardy wildflower known for attracting pollinators and its traditional medicinal uses.

The group also talked about one of the most important ingredients in a healthy orchard: healthy soil. Instead of sending yard waste away, volunteers used leaves, natural wood chips, and even the weeds collected on-site as mulch. Over time, these natural materials break down, returning nutrients to the soil, holding moisture, and helping plants thrive.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us, and to our incredible partners and community leaders who helped make this orchard possible, including Cristiane and Jeff from the Pearl Street Garden Collective, Tonay from the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program, and community leaders Waleska and Luis.

We can’t wait to see how the orchard continues to grow, and we hope you’ll join us for a future Forest Care Day as we continue caring for Providence’s neighborhood forests together.