Restoring St Coletta's Orchard
Team up with Warm Belly Farm to help restore a non-profit's 100-year-old orchard!
The orchard dates back as far as 1864 when the Sisters of St Francis of Assisi arrived in Jefferson, Wisconsin. Over the next 40 years, the sisters built a life, a farm and in 1904 founded St. Coletta of Wisconsin, a non-profit organization with a Mission to serve adults with developmental and other disabilities. Even after 116 years, the organization continues to carry on that same Mission today.
For over 100 years, St. Coletta of Wisconsin was a completely self-sustaining organization. Everything but salt, coffee, tea, yeast & sugar was grown on-site by the individuals we serve, students, sisters, and staff. More than 700 people benefited daily from the fruits, vegetables, meat, milk, and cheese grown and produced on-site in its prime. Our records show that our orchard has been around since before 1864, with the youngest trees planted in 1949. The fruit was used daily for snacks, ciders, and even apple wine. With over 230 mature apple trees and so many rare heirloom varieties, apple harvest begins as early as July with White Transparent and Duchess of Oldenburg apples and continues into November. Many trees are so rare that we haven’t even been able to identify them!
This is where you come in. St. Coletta has slowly begun restoring the more than 230 apple trees, 120+-year-old orchard using only volunteers! The orchard is a cherished part of the community and needs more work than their limited resources can stretch. The individuals they care for, their staff, and the community as a whole benefit from this amazing resource, and we would love to see it restored! It is their hope that the orchard will someday again be self-sustaining and benefit from selling these amazingly rare heirloom apples.
They seek monetary donations to help cover the restoration costs, including fertilizer, tools, etc. They are also always accepting volunteers to help maintain and harvest. Warm Belly Farm manages a 4000 apple tree high density orchard in Ft. Atkinson, WI and the staff is volunteering their time and expertise to guide St. Coletta's staff and volunteers.
