Antique Orchard Preservation 

Apple orchards in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore were planted on the landscape in the 1800s as settlers homesteaded their properties and were vital pieces of their subsistence farming.  They are an important element of the cultural landscape to be preserved. These have been documented on the mainland and the Manitou Islands. The preservation of over 80 identified varieties are being preserved thanks to park staff, volunteers, the Leelanau Conservation District, Port Oneida descendants, and Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear, whose role has been to fund supplies for grafting, planting, and fencing, and assist with pruning. Volunteers help with all of these duties as well as watering the orchards in the summer. The Park started an orchard nursery at the Kelderhouse Farm several years ago. As those young trees grow, they are then transplanted to another remnant orchard in Port Oneida. 

Adopt an Orchard 

Would you or your group like to adopt an orchard? Give us a call at 231-334-6103, and have you or your group complete a volunteer application!. Applicants will need to be qualified by proving past experience or receive training from the park through their pruning workshops, or another certified trainer. You can also volunteer to water the orchards.

Park pruning workshops are held the first Friday of May. To sign up email Kimberly_Mann@nps.gov.

To help fund the preservation, donate here.