Want to be part of a network of fruit tree growers in our region, focused on sharing genetics and skill-building? Interested in improving your ability to grow healthy fruit trees, add perennial crops to your farm, or share your favourite heirloom fruit genetics with others? Join us for a hands-on Scion Exchange & Grafting Workshop at The Urban Orchardist nursery in Guelph!

This event will introduce the Participatory Fruit Tree Breeding Project of the Eastern Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Lowlands — a new network of orchardists, growers, and tree stewards working together to share, explore, and improve upon fruit tree genetics available to growers in our bioregion. Through this initiative, we aim to deepen connections between growers, document important fruit traits, and inspire the next generation of orchard keepers.

Led by orchardist and nurseryman Matt Soltys, this workshop is ideal for home orchardists, ecological farmers, and anyone passionate about fruit trees and resilient regional food cultures. You’ll learn the basics of clonal fruit tree propagation—including scion collection and bud grafting—and take part in a scion exchange, where participants are invited to bring and share scions from their favourite trees.

You’ll also get a guided tour of Matt’s organic orchard and nursery at Ignatius Farm, where he grows fruit and nut trees selected for flavour, disease resistance, and cultural significance. From espaliered apples to seedling pawpaws and nut tree hedgerows, you’ll see how nursery stock can be regionally adapted and ecologically integrated.

Whether you’re just starting out or you’re ready to swap rare scionwood, this event is for you.

Let’s gather to graft, learn, and grow a community rooted in abundance.

What to Bring: Labelled scionwood if you have it (not required!), a grafting knife if you’d like to practice, and your curiosity.