GREEN NEWS & VIEWS
Returning to the Orchard: A Regenerative Story of Life, Death and Renewal
BY MICHAEL JUDD
On a crisp fall morning, under a golden canopy of chestnut leaves, a family gathers in silence. There are no polished marble stones, no DUWL¿FLDOWXUIQRULJLGOLQHVRIPRQXPHQWV,QVWHDGVRIWJUDVVHVVZD\ A woven shroud rests on the earth, dappled in sunlight and covered in ZLOGÀRZHUV,QWKLVPRPHQWJULHIPHHWVJUDWLWXGH7KHRUFKDUGEHDUV witness. 7KLV LV 0RUULV 2UFKDUG 1DWXUDO %XULDO *URXQG ² D SODFH ZKHUH GHDWKLVQRWDQHQGLQJEXWDUHWXUQ+HUHLQ)UHGHULFN&RXQW\0DU\ - ODQGDIRUPHUQXWRUFKDUGKDVTXLHWO\EHFRPHVDFUHGJURXQGR̆ HULQJ IDPLOLHVDGL̆ HUHQWNLQGRIJRRGE\H²RQHURRWHGLQORYHOHJDF\DQG the living soil. Planting Seeds of Purpose The orchard itself was never meant for burial. Sixty years ago, a local father and son planted chestnuts across the landscape, spacing HDFKWUHHZLWKLQWHQWLRQ/DWHU0RUULV0RQHVVRQD86'$DJULFXOWXU - al agent, added pecans and black walnuts to the mix, dreaming of a bountiful and resilient food forest. With methodical care, he measured SODQWLQJGLVWDQFHVXVLQJDIRRWFKDLQ <HDUVSDVVHG7KHWUHHVJUHZWDOODQGVWURQJ%XWZKHQWKH0RQHV - sons passed on, their land stood at a crossroads — one familiar to PDQ\DJLQJIDUPV,WFRXOGKDYHEHFRPHDGHYHORSPHQWDPHPRU\ paved over. But fate had something else in mind. 0LFKDHO-XGG¿UVWQRWLFHGWKHRUFKDUGIURPWKHURDG+HZDVGUDZQ
in — not by any grand sign or invitation, but by the quiet rhythm of WKHSODFH,Q KHNQRFNHGRQ1DQF\0RQHVVRQ¶VGRRU+HR̆ HUHG KHOSWHQGLQJWKHDJLQJWUHHV6KHVDLG\HV2YHUVHDVRQV0LFKDHODQG KLVSDUWQHU-DQH'HQQLVRQKDUYHVWHGQXWVFDUHGIRUWKHRUFKDUGDQG formed a deep connection with both land and legacy. :KHQWKHODQGHYHQWXDOO\ZHQWXSIRUVDOH0LFKDHODQG-DQHGLGQ¶W see an investment opportunity — they saw a continuation. What if the orchard could remain intact, and serve a deeper purpose? What if it FRXOGEHFRPHD¿QDOUHVWLQJSODFHWKDWDOVRJDYHEDFNWRWKH(DUWK"
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PATHWAYS—Fall 25—21
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