FAQ

While winter may bring a (temporary) halt to the harvesting of fruit and nuts, we Canadians know that from approx. February – March our local maple trees start producing that liquid gold sap! Understandably, we are often contacted by members of the community regarding our involvement in and knowledge of tree tapping and syrup production. While we are happy to support local initiatives such as…

This year we have partnered with Bridgehead to host Volunteer Intro sessions at local coffeehouses to chat about how you and your neighbours can get started finding your Hidden Harvest this year. Join us for this short event if you’re curious to learn more about Hidden Harvest, our harvest events, our food tree search, future workshops, and if you’re keen to help out. Some questions we will…

Question:  “What can we do to help!?!” Answer: WANTED: More Trees to Harvest! Help us obtain permission to harvest more food-bearing trees. Currently we have permission to harvest about 20 trees, yet there  thousands of food bearing trees here in Ottawa hiding…

A Hidden Harvest Ottawa “Harvest Event” consists of a small group of volunteers picking fruit from one or two trees. All harvesting equipment is provided and the Lead Harvester will give you an run-through of how the harvest works at the beginning of each harvest. It usually takes about 2 hours to harvest one large tree. If you would like to pick fruit with us, here’s an overview…

Yes! You can eat urban fruit and nuts! More and more cities are jumping on board urban fruit and nut harvesting – Ottawa is by no means the first. Hidden Harvest has learned a lot from food rescue friends in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Victoria, Halifax, Montreal, and Vancouver –  just to name a few. Recently, a list of urban harvest organizations was compiled by Alternatives…

A “Harvest Event” is when a group of volunteers gather to pick fruit, nuts, or grapes which would otherwise go to waste. On average, five volunteers will spend two hours harvesting a tree or two. Each harvest event will be arranged and led by a Neighbourhood Leader (aka Lead Harvester). Find the event When you register…

Yesterday was the Eastern Ontario Society of Nut Growers (ECSONG) yearly gathering, where all those who are nuts about nuts get together. Hidden Harvest gave a short presentation about our last year in operation, and we also heard from others about the amazing Lanark Shagbark Hickory…

The green dots () on our map show the City-owned trees which may produce edible fruits or nuts. We say “may produce” since some trees are too young (eg. a Turkish Hazel may not produce a yield until its 4th or 5th year) and other trees may not yield fruits or nuts at all (eg. all ginkgo trees are listed…