Past Projects

Pemberton Crabapple Tree Project

The Crabapple Tree project organized crabapple harvests from trees planted along Portage Road in Pemberton. These mature trees were planted in honour and memory of local veterans and community members. While beautiful, they attracted black bears into our town each year. Bears that become conditioned to accessing human food sources in urban areas are at higher risk of being killed due to human-bear conflict and public safety concerns. By removing the attractant – harvesting the fruit - we reduced this conflict potential. The harvested crabapples were taken to the Pemberton Community Centre or Pemberton Legion kitchen where they were processed into seasonal crabapple jelly.

Even with the success of this program, some bears were still attracted to the crabapple trees. Due to the trees' locality next to Signal Hill Elementary School and the Pemberton Community Centre, the Village of Pemberton decided to remove the trees. The end of this program led to the beginning of our Pemberton Fruit Tree Project, which continues on the same principles of reducing food waste and minimizing human-bear conflict.