Permanent collections of fruit and nut trees

I received this letter recently from Gordon Lees, seems very relevant to Transition Towns.

Gordon is the North Island Vice-President, New Zealand Tree Crops Association)

The principle purpose of the Fruit Tree Collection Charitable Trust is to develop and maintain a permanent collection of the best and most unique varieties of fruit and nut trees grown on land permanently set aside for the purpose.  In order to get land on which permanent collections could be planted, and to obtain widespread community support and expertise, the Northern Region Branch of the New Zealand Tree Crops Association (NZTCA) is encouraging the Auckland Botanical Gardens, the Howick Historical Village, Unitech and the Auckland Regional Parks to contribute.  For maximum flexibility and suitability for different climatic and soil variations, the collection should be held on land throughout New Zealand, with the positions of the trees mapped by GPS technology and registered on a central data base, together with provenance and other cultural notes.  In the first instance, the trust will concentrate on the Auckland/Northland area. The collections could become a miniature “Kew Gardens” of fruit trees, maintaining a valuable “gene bank” for future generations.

In order to establish the collections on as permanent a basis as possible, land needs to be set aside that will be not easily be lost for other purposes (as happens now), the collections must be able to be maintained and the sites of individual specimens known with certainty.  As such, the proposed collection requires support from those organizations entrusted for similar purposes in the community. At this stage the trust deed of the proposed charitable trust is undergoing revisions suggested by members of the National Management Committee of the NZTCA. Howick Historical Village is prepared to sign a trust deed and Auckland Botanical Gardens may do so.  Both organizations are prepared to make land available for collections, and the Auckland Botanical Gardens will help with GPS mapping and the data base.  Unitech does not want to tie up land that they may require for other purposes in the future, but they do support the concept.  Trees on land held by the Auckland Regional Parks system would be a valuable addition to the land currently available.

It is proposed that trees planted on permanent sites will become the property of the organizations on which the collections are planted.  The collections will probably be held on multiple sites, but integrated via GPS mapping and a central data base.  Propagating material should be made available to the members of the trust, who should then make it available, directly or indirectly, to members of the public. This was one of the essential requirements before the Auckland Botanical Gardens would agree to consider joining the trust.  The NZTCA will provide input as to the species and cultivars most suitable for preserving in the Auckland/Northland region.

REASONS WHY A WIDE BASE IS NEEDED FOR THE FRUIT TREE COLLECTIONS CHARITABLE TRUST

1. Stability.  A trust that is dependent on the enthusiasm of one individual from a single organization is probably doomed to failure in the long run.  We have the example in the Tree Crops of an Auckland member who maintained a good collection of subtropical trees on land made available to him.  After his death, the collection was gradually lost and the land has reverted to the business that made the land available.

1. A trust composed of multiple organizations spreads the work load and maximizes the expertise available to the trust.  Individual organizations would normally have strengths in different areas needed for a trust to be successful in maintaining collections.

1. The trust benefits from the standing of the organizations comprising the trust.  This is particularly important when applying for grants.  The proposed trust does not have any guaranteed funds.  A wide base of support also attracts favourable publicity and standing in the community.

1. The proposed structure could serve as a model for the formation of other trusts with similar aims throughout NZ.  This could eventually lead to a NZ-wide organization providing a geographical and species disperse collection.