\u201cWith the community garden, people each have their own plot,\u201d Kelley said. \u201cThe point of this is that nobody will have individual ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n
From lawn to forest<\/p>\n
Highland Park, which cradles the neighborhood of the same name, was dedicated in 1889. It had been an attraction since 1879, when the installation of Reservoir No.1 formed a centerpiece for the surrounding green space. Its 377 acres now house the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium, a swimming pool, trails for walking, hiking and biking, a children\u2019s playground, volleyball and an off-leash dog park, in addition to its generous green spaces.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.publicsource.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260911-Highland-Park-Orchard-Pittsburgh-07.jpg\")
Michael Kelley, the Pittsburgh Forestry Division\u2019s utility coordination arborist, stands in the division\u2019s office by a map of the planned Highland Park Public Orchard on Sept. 11. The orchard will boast apples, cherries, peaches, plums, pears, figs, pawpaws, multiple berries and the hican, a type of nut. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/p>\n
The orchard sits alongside the office of the Forestry Division, a squat little building that looks straight out of Jellystone Park. The charm of the exterior is met by that of the inside, but despite the whimsy this is a hotbed of community-serving activity. The 19-person Forestry Division is probably not the first entity to come to mind when considering local government, but once on radar their work is evident everywhere you look, especially if your eyes turn to the urban canopy shading (or not quite shading) our public spaces.<\/p>\n
Immediately next to Forestry\u2019s homebase was, until a few months ago, a regular lawn, plain old green grass, the kind that looks pretty and gets mowed and otherwise doesn\u2019t really bring a lot to the party. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t serving a purpose,\u201d said Kelley. \u201cNow we\u2019re taking an acre of it and returning it to public access.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018We want an orchard\u2019<\/p>\n
Twenty trees, 18 bushes and 24 brambles were planted this year, with another four trees to come this fall. The seed was planted a few years ago when the Forestry Division had an opportunity to partner with The Giving Grove.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Young](\"https:\/\/www.publicsource.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260911-Highland-Park-Orchard-Pittsburgh-12.jpg\")
Sunchoke shrubs grow above protective fencing in the the City of Pittsburgh\u2019s Highland Park Public Orchard on Sept. 11. The sunchokes, reminiscent of a slightly nutty potato, are being used to break up the soil as the Forestry Division explores how the plant pulls heavy metals out of dirt. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/p>\n
The Giving Grove<\/a> is a Kansas City, Missouri nonprofit working across the United States helping individuals and organizations build orchards, with the belief that projects serving the community do best when community-led and community-driven. They supply the trees themselves, provide education and support, and have established around 850 sites so far.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In Allegheny County, their partner is Tree Pittsburgh<\/a>. A few years back while the local nonprofit was fielding requests for orchards, The Giving Grove was looking to break new ground. For a city to qualify, a substantial amount of the population must be facing food insecurity. Pittsburgh fits the bill. In 2023, all the stars aligned and Tree Pittsburgh brought on Kimberly Bracken in the role of Giving Grove manager.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople reach out and say, \u2018We want an orchard,\u2019 and we provide what they need to make that happen,\u201d said Bracken. Most of the time this means planting on land owned by the government or nonprofit organizations, but private land is an option as long as it meets the requirements: eight hours of sun, water on site, safe thresholds of lead. Permission has to be granted for Tree Pittsburgh to plant and recipients must agree that they will never develop the site.\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the stipulation that the public will be able to benefit, with ample room for interpretation. \u201cWe allow the steward a lot of freedom,\u201d Bracken said. \u201cBut there has to be some component of being open to people who want to access it.\u201d In some cases, that could be in exchange for participating in harvests, work days or some other kind of exchange. In Highland Park, it will mean visiting during designated daily hours in which visitors can explore at will.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s about all it takes. The process is simple, the application is streamlined and user-friendly. In the three years they\u2019ve been working in Allegheny County, this goal has been met, the result being the planting of 55 orchards, so far.<\/p>\n Fences, but few barriers<\/p>\n At Highland Park, The Giving Grove is donating the majority of the plants with a few notable exceptions. The rhubarb, for example, will come from Kelley\u2019s family\u2019s plot in Butler, originally cultivated by his great-great-great (this is an estimate, there may be more) grandmother \u2014 a vegetable with a history deeper than the park itself, now in a 21st century plot.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fencing, necessary to keep deer out, is recycled from other parks, with the Construction Division lending a hand with installation. \u201cThe nice thing about this is that it\u2019s been extremely low cost for the city,\u201d said Kelley, who estimates that so far the only direct expenses have been vinegar used to quell the grass and wire to cage the trees.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kelley designed the tree layout along with Forest Equity Specialist Hana Kneiser. Spring ephemerals, bulb plants and ground cover, especially to create pollinator habitats, are on the list as well. In the works are non-botanical extras: signs bearing names and descriptions, tags in red or green to indicate if ready to pick or in need of a minute or two, maybe some QR codes leading to more information and resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Forestry Division will be responsible for the maintenance of the space, at least at the onset. \u201cWe\u2019ve had people come into the office and say, \u2018I saw what you\u2019re doing, can I get involved?\u2019\u201d Kelley said. Eventually opportunities will be available, not only in tending but in education and community outreach, possibly for organizations and groups.<\/p>\n Regardless of growth, though, the mission will persist.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will at some point be working with community groups to manage this space,\u201d said Kelley, \u201cBut it will be managed with the expectation that it\u2019s managed for the public.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m always glad to see another way for people to engage with the park,\u201d says Stephanie Walsh, a longtime Highland Park Community Council board member.\u00a0<\/p>\n Walsh is appreciative in particular of the street plantings leading to the park\u2019s public pool, a multiyear effort that provides a path of uninterrupted shade to pedestrians traveling to it from East Liberty.\u00a0<\/p>\n When the Forestry Division informed them of the orchard, they immediately started getting the word out. \u201cIt\u2019s another opportunity to teach people about gardening,\u201d said Walsh, a home gardener who is curious about pawpaws in particular, not yet having encountered one in person. \u201cWhen you learn to grow, you grow yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n What to do until the fruit comes<\/p>\n She won\u2019t see one this year. Someday the dozens of planned trees will be expansive, hearty and prolific, and the orchard full. As of now, less than half of the planting has been completed; what exists is small and thin. Reaching peak productivity will take several years. The public opening won\u2019t take quite as long but it\u2019s likely to need a year or so.<\/p>\n In the meantime, The Giving Grove national website<\/a> houses enough resources to spend the dormant months learning, and the Forestry Division has materials online<\/a> as well. It will soon include an Engage PGH page, the city\u2019s method of online community participation, with an interactive map inviting users to suggest fruits, vegetables and herbs they\u2019d like to see, as well as elements like benches and gazebos. <\/p>\n For engagement IRL, on Oct. 17, Tree Pittsburgh will present a Giving Grove Tree Adoption Event, welcoming volunteers to help bring residents and trees together. Adoption events happen on the regular, and other varied volunteer opportunities always await.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n As this season\u2019s production winds down, the superstar turn was taken by an arch at center stage laden with legumes going like gangbusters. Kelley refers to this arbor as \u201cGreen Bean Grotto,\u201d and one hopes that each section will eventually possess a pet name of its own. A pawpaw tree, which could someday stretch 30 shrubby feet toward the sky but now resembles Charlie Brown holiday decor, bore a single fruit. This was consumed, which was the intention, but by a raccoon, which was not. A blackberry bush produced a similar yield.\u00a0<\/p>\n All of this is as expected. Bracken said that the trees planted are typically 3 to 6 years old, and while sometimes they produce in the nursery, it\u2019s \u201cvery stressful to be planted from a pot to the ground,\u201d so it could take a minute. Even once everything reaches its most fertile maturity, the harvest is meant to pique interest rather than sate appetites.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe yield on this is never going to be high,\u201d said Kelley. \u201cThe yield is going to be diverse so that people get a chance to experience fruits and vegetables that they don\u2019t always get a chance to see growing naturally, or even to buy in a grocery store.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.publicsource.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260911-Highland-Park-Orchard-Pittsburgh-02.jpg\")
A dog peers beyond a \u201cComing Soon\u201d sign on the chain link fence around the wood chipped plot that will bloom into the City of Pittsburgh\u2019s Highland Park Public Orchard on Sept. 11. Shrubs, trees, and vines are being planted now, in anticipation of an opening in a year and a half. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.publicsource.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260911-Highland-Park-Orchard-Pittsburgh-09.jpg\")
Michael Kelley of the Pittsburgh Forestry Division walks past a blooming red amaranth growing at the emerging Highland Park Public Orchard on Sept. 11. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t serving a purpose for the public,\u201d he said of the lot, \u201cbut now we\u2019re taking an acre of that and returning it back to the public.\u201d (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.publicsource.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260911-Highland-Park-Orchard-Pittsburgh-08.jpg\")
Michael Kelley of the Pittsburgh Forestry Division, shows the division\u2019s engagement page with a map of the planned Highland Park Public Orchard on Sept. 11. The public can suggest species for planting at the space. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/p>\n