Breaking Ground at the Pyramid Lake Orchard

Earlier this year, Dela Johns, a Natural Resources Coordinator at Pyramid Lake, applied for a grant through Dryer's Fruit Bars which would secure a full scale orchard if the community could gain enough support through public votes cast online. Towns from across the country competed for the prize, but at the end of August it was clear that Pyramid Lake had enough support in order to make the proposal a reality. A patch of land that was once an old baseball field (just outside the doors of the Natural Resources office) was designated as the best location for the trees. UNCE helped test the soils, which proved to be ideal for agricultural production. 

Last Friday, myself and Randy Emm (also of UNCE), were on site to oversee the groundbreaking. Although we were here to investigate new agricultural efforts in rural development, I must digress. I was surprised to notice something else going on in the periphery of our focus, solar panels. All of the schools, the museum and even some of the administrative buildings along our route to Nixon had solar panel grids. "This is the first solar highway in the country", said Johns. "The folks at Burning Man have donated and even taught our guys how to maintain the grids."

But back to the old baseball diamond where the fruit trees will be planted. The field is no doubt a fertile place for growth as new grasses have recently emerged after an unexpected fall rain shower. An irrigation system will reduce the amount of hands on maintenance required to produce a successful crop. To allow the orchard maximum exposure to sunlight, and to ensure loose soils for roots to develop in, a backhoe was used to trench out rows in an east-west grid, with rows spaced 20 feet apart. The trees will be placed 15 feet apart form each other within the rows. On November 6th, over 100 fruit trees of all varieties will arrive to be planted and nurtured for years to come.

"The idea of a community orchard fits the Paiute value of being self-sufficient and sharing. The orchard will be the table where the community will be brought together through education and action The orchard will be a sustainable source of nutrition and provide environmental benefits such as making oxygen, using up carbon dioxide, stabilizing eroding soils, putting nutrients back into the soil, and provide habitat for the small wildlife."

Nixon, NV
red = orchard
yellow = solar panel grids

Bring your kids to learn about geography, maps, and finding stuff with satellites!

Using GPS receivers we'll be creating and locating nearby geocaches. We'll also be using computers to create and view custom maps. Ages 9-19, FREE.