Fruit Tree Planting Foundation Contest

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On September 1st, the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF) and contest sponsor Edy's Fruit Bars notified us that we'd won a free fruit orchard in this year's Communities Take Root online voting contest! Sandywoods finished in first place in the fourth and final round of voting. In the overall contest, stretching back to April 15th, we came in 16th out of 131 pre-screened nonprofit groups from all over the country.
 
By the time the contest ended, over 31,000 votes had been cast for Sandywoods! This is truly an astonishing outcome, and a wonderful way to celebrate our first anniversary as an intentional community focused on the arts and sustainable agriculture. Whether you voted every day or just once, you helped Sandywoods win this orchard. Every single vote mattered. We thank you all!

 

Here is our contest essay and group photo:

 

Martin Luther said, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” We feel the same way. Planting an orchard is a life-affirming act, and we would be honored to be chosen to plant one here at Sandywoods Farm. Sandywoods is a new intentional community in rural Tiverton, Rhode Island. Fifty low and moderate income families moved to Sandywoods in the fall of 2010 to live and work together. One of our common goals is to create a sustainable community centered around agriculture. Over 20 acres of open farm land have been set aside for our use, and we've chosen a perfect site for an orchard. We plan to start a large community garden in the spring, and we would love to plant a fruit orchard this year as well. Some of us are experienced gardeners, some of us grew up on farms or have worked as farm caretakers, still others are new to farming. But what we all share is a desire to be good stewards of the land. There are many young children living here at Sandywoods, and we would love for them to be able to watch the orchard grow in the years to come. When the trees mature and start to bear fruit, we will remember where they came from. Planting these trees will be one of the first long-term investments that we make in our new home. Thank you for considering our request.