Syracuse.com - More than 50 people attend apple tree pruning demonstration at Great Bear Springs

[HuntingNY-News]

With the orchard trees having been unattended for over 30 years, they were ideal for demonstrating.

Fernando Araya, a local arborist, talks about some basics of tree pruning, demonstrating on an apple treeRichard Drosse photo 

More than 50 people came to Great Bear Springs Saturday to attend a tree pruning presentation. The demonstration took place in an apple orchard in the area, which has been unattended for more than 30 years.

The Great Bear Recreational area is owned by the City of Fulton and the Town of Volney. The presentation was sponsored by the Fulton Public Library and Friends of Great Bear.

Richard Drosse, coordinator of Friends of Great Bear, gave the following account.

"Fernando Araya, a local arborist, was the presenter and instructor. Araya formatted the program so as to use the apple trees at Great Bear and included corresponding information applicable for pruning in general.

"A young apple tree was selected to demonstrate pruning techniques to develop proper and healthy growth into a mature tree that would bare fruit in several years.

"For the second segment, a mature apple tree was selected. The tree was in need of thinning out overgrowth of limbs and sucker branches. Demonstrating with hand tools and chainsaw, Araya worked at ridding unwanted branches and limbs, opening up the tree's canopy for proper growth and fruit development.

Using an orchard ladder and safety gear, Araya prunes unwanted branches in the canopy.Richard Drosse photo 

"Many pruning questions were answered along with visual demonstrations. The apple trees, with surrounding brush, at Great Bear, present an ideal habitat for wildlife. When brush is cleared under and just around the trees, it allows for deer and other animals to feed on the dropped apples, but gives the animals a safe habitat to retreat to.

This presentation was sponsored by the Fulton Public Library and Friends of Great Bear. The Great Bear Recreational area is owned by the City of Fulton and the Town of Volney.

For more on the group, Friends of Great Bear, see its website..

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog