Planting lifelong seeds

LIGNUM -- A group of children with unstable pasts planted permanent roots on a spacious, picturesque farm in southeastern Culpeper County on Monday afternoon.

The Alice C. Tyler Village of Childhelp is one of 25 applicants chosen to receive an orchard through the Communities Take Root program sponsored by Edy’s Fruit Bars and the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation.

“Our hope is not only to beautify these neighborhoods, but also to encourage healthy eating and build strong community relationships,” said Melanie Fitzgerald, spokeswoman for Edy’s Fruit Bars. “We plant these trees today with the intent that they will bear fresh fruit for years to come.”

To escape the oppressive heat beaming down from the unforgiving sun, the children, volunteers and counselors savored refreshing Edy’s Fruit Bars.

Tucked away on a secluded 260-acre community off of Route 3, Childhelp is a safe haven for nearly 70 severely abused and neglected children. The program provides a long-term residential treatment for children ages 5 through 14.

Equipped with shovels and work gloves, about 30 people listened to three brief speeches before planting the first of 35 apple, plum and peach trees and blueberry shrubs.

The children, accompanied by their counselors, were allowed to participate after the opening ceremony.

The orchard will feature the village’s labyrinth: a quarter-mile trail with fruit trees and shrubs located behind the gymnasium.

“The whole labyrinth was designed to be part of a forest garden, which has different layers,” said Childhelp Chaplin David Henry, adding that the village provides 24-hour care, seven days a week. “It’ll allow the children to walk along the shade and maybe find some solitude while they’re still being supervised.”

A total of 100 hopeful communities across the country applied for the bountiful orchards. Residents were encouraged to vote for their community and by the end of each month, the top-five with the most votes were awarded the trees and removed from the eligible list.

“It was a great opportunity for us to come together as a community,” said Henry. “It was a nice way for us to pull together.

FTPF Executive Director Cem Akin added that his company considered a number of different factors when deciding on candidates, including a community’s enthusiasm about receiving an orchard, how the orchard will be utilized and whether or not the ground was suitable to grow fruit trees.

“These are long-lasting assets that will survive for decades. It’s a long-term valuable investment that provides nutrition and environmental education opportunities year after year,” said Akin.

Rico Montenegro, FTPF arborist, added that the non-profit, international organization is dedicated to planting edible fruit trees to benefit communities across the globe.

“The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation strategically plants orchards in areas where the harvest will most benefit deserving communities,” said Montenegro. “Our orchards bring hope in places such as public schools, parks, low-income neighborhoods, food banks and communities in the developing world.”

Henry said that the mission of Childhelp is to meet the spiritual, emotional, physical and educational needs of the traumatized children that it serves.

“All of the children here have failed at other settings and the village provides them a place where they can stop, catch their breath and learn some new ways of being and dealing in the world,” he said.

About the Alice C. Tyler Village of Childhelp:

The 260-acre village provides 24-hour professional treatment for abused and neglected children seven days a week. Started in 1993, Childhelp offers a safe haven for children ages 5 to 14.

The children receive psychological/clinical therapy, recreational therapy, educational therapy and music therapy.

Childhelp was recently awarded an orchard featuring 35 apple, plum and peach trees and blueberry shrubs through the Communities Take Root program