A 36-acre property near Cortez in southwestern Colorado soon will be transformed into a sustainable community apple “orchard hub.” With help from The Nature Conservancy, the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project was able to purchase the land . Jude Schuenemeyer, who co-directs the project, said they’ll use beneficial insects instead of pesticides to protect the apple trees, and underneath, there will be a range of native wildflowers to create a safe space for pollinators to refuel.
“You start to create an ecosystem there,” he said, “and, within that ecosystem, it’s a place where all the different species of bees can be in there without getting sprayed out and killed.”
Plans for a hybrid water system, using native grasses throughout the orchard with roots up to nine feet long, will create a natural underground reservoir, conserving water in an area prone to prolonged drought. Read more or listen to the full story at KDNK Public Radio…
By Eric Galatas | KDNK | July 21, 2020