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Did you know? This time of year, a small but mighty tree is quietly offering up its gifts — if you know where to look.
The serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.) is one of the earliest fruiting trees of the season, producing clusters of small, blueberry-like fruits that ripen from deep red to a rich purple in late June and early July.
Look for its delicate white blossoms in early spring — among the first to appear after winter — followed by smooth, oval leaves with finely toothed edges. It grows as either a multi-stemmed shrub or a small tree, typically reaching 3–8 metres tall, with smooth grey bark. You may already know it by another name: saskatoon, juneberry, or shadbush.
oof –thanks for that thumbnail choice, YouTube :/
Here’s the wonderful part: serviceberries have been quietly planted all around us. They’re a beloved choice for municipal landscaping and right here in Durham Region they’re hiding in plain sight; lining streets, dotting parks, and gracing public spaces. Chances are, you’ve walked past one without knowing it was offering you a gift.
This idea of the gift — of nature’s quiet generosity — is at the heart of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s beautiful book, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
Kimmerer, a botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, uses the serviceberry as a model for a different way of thinking about the world: one rooted not in scarcity and transaction, but in abundance and reciprocity. The tree gives its fruit freely. Birds carry its seeds. The forest grows richer. Nothing is wasted. Everything circulates.
I believe this is a model worth living by.
With that spirit in mind, we are growing our community fruit harvesting program in Durham Region — and we need your help to do it.
Do you have a fruit tree of any kind? A serviceberry, apple, pear, plum, cherry, apricot, peach… anything? Please register your tree on Bean Trellis. Your generosity could feed neighbours, reduce food waste, and help build the kind of reciprocal community Kimmerer writes about.
Interested in leading or joining a harvest? Register on Bean Trellis as a volunteer or pick lead to get access to the Green Bean Collective’s community fruit harvesting program. No experience necessary — just a willingness to show up and share.
🔗 Register your tree or join a harvest at BeanTrellis: https://beantrellis.ca/