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This Sunday, Wallingford will host a special group of students from Washington State University who are spending their spring break volunteering together on service projects across the state.

WSU’s  “Spring to Action, Break for Change” gives students hands-on experience with a number of sustainable agriculture and natural resources service learning projects. The group of 15 students and three faculty and staff will be volunteering in Seattle in support of the Burke-Gilman Trail Urban Orchard Stewards,  part of City Fruit’s Public Orchard Steward program. The Burke-Gilman Trail volunteer stewards are Wallingford residents who care for 23 public fruit trees along the Trail between Gasworks Park and the University Bridge.

Volunteers will be clearing invasive plants around an existing mini-orchard of two apple trees, with the ultimate goal of planting apple, pear, and plum trees nearby. The WSU students are not necessarily from agriculture majors, so may be learning the joys of digging in the dirt the same as any newbie volunteer.

The project site is south of the black chain link fence along the Burke-Gilman Trail at Sunnyside Ave. N. Or come from the Lake Union side, at 2400 N. Northlake Way (map), just west of Waterway Cruises.  Look for the colorful Parks canopies.

So stop by Sunday and meet the crew! We’ll work on invasives from 9am to noon, then plant trees and spread wood chips in the afternoon. We’ll have experts who can answer your questions about sustainable agriculture in Africa or about how to deal with apple scab and codling moth in Wallingford. Or maybe you just want to gaze upon a weed wrench magically yanking out blackberry roots. Now, that’s good in the ‘hood.