THE MASSACHUSETTS FRUITION PROGRAM 



The Fruition Program, which was created in 1980 to promote the growing of 

 public-access fruit and nut plants in Massachusetts, has been growing 

 steadily. The program provides information and educational workshops for the 

 public, as well as plants for community groups to plant on public-access land. 

 The current tally of groups involved in the program is as follows: 



No. of Cities No. of Community Group s 



County and Towns 



Berkshire 3 4 



Franklin 3 3 



Hampshire 3 3 



Hampden 3 3 



Worcester 10 12 



Essex 10 14 



Middlesex 8 10 



Suffolk 6 (neighborhoods) 24 



Norfolk 6 6 



Plymouth 3 3 



Bristol 3 3 



Barnstable 12 15 



Dukes 3 5 



Nantucket 



TOTAL TT ^W 



Many of the trees and shrubs which were distributed in the earlier days of 

 the program have begun to bear fruit -- from raspberries, blueberries and sour 

 cherries to pears and Chinese chestnuts. This has been the cause of much excite- 

 ment in community gardens, public parks and school grounds. Several promising 

 new fruits have been added to the distribution list, including Actinidia arguta , 

 a hardy relative of the kiwi fruit, and Asimina triloba , or the paw-paw. 



This year the Fruition Program staff concentrated on fine-tuning the appli- 

 cation and application review procedures, identifying more local suppliers of 

 plants, and improving follow-up on participating groups. The Fruition Program 

 received a good deal of publicity, including a television spot on Channel 22 

 News in Springfield, several radio interviews and announcements, and many 

 newspaper and journal articles. 



In the Fruition spirit, the Department participated in this years' s Earth 

 Day Celebration, with Governor Michael S. Dukakis, Secretary of Environmental 

 Affairs James S. Hoyte, and Commissioner Frederic Winthrop, Jr. planting two 

 butternut trees on the MDC Esplanade in Boston. 



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