Orchard Revitalization – Guadalupe River Park Conservancy

A project years in the making

Holding on to the past while looking to the future

The Historic Orchard is a slice of the history of Santa Clara Valley, once so fertile with orchards, flowering trees, and plants, it was known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight. However, orchards change over time and must be properly maintained for longevity. With the Historic Orchard Revitalization project underway, we look forward to the orchard producing fruit once again, while educating community members to the area’s historical and environmental importance.

What has been done?

As the Historic Orchard enters its third decade, our trees have dealt with hardships due to weather, diseases and pests. In partnership with West Valley College’s Park Management program, we removed our dying trees between 2018 to 2020. Since then, new interpretive signage, a new irrigation system, and new tree and shrub species better suited to our changing climate were added, as well as new community partnerships formed.

Our partners, the UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County, took ownership of helping us steward the Historic Orchard. With their help, we’ve planted new fruit trees including apples, oranges, peaches, plums, avocados, olives, and various modern hybrids and varieties.

With the help of volunteers, over 50 new tree species were installed in 2024 alone! View the full orchard map here.

Historic Orchard Map

What is coming in the future?

The orchard will continue to change and evolve as we evaluate how each of the new tree species do in the environment. Pest control and irrigation repairs are an ongoing challenge as with any gardening project. As the trees continue to grow and hopefully produce an abundance of fruits, we will donate them to local food banks.

Thanks to new funding from AMD, Planet Bee, and Congressmember Lofgren Community Project Funding, we will be installing:

New corrugated metal plates along Historic Orchard fencing
New interpretive panels
New pollinator hedgerow
A deck and boardwalk for programming and ease of access
Additional trees

Previous Historic Orchard funders include: One Tree Planted, Farrington Historical Foundation, and ARM.

A Space for Learning

The primary purpose of the Historic Orchard continues to be as a place for the San Jose community to come together and learn about fruit tree care and the history of San Jose.

If you’d like to get involved, consider volunteering with us or donating to our ongoing Historic Orchard Revitalization project. For questions, feedback, or to use the space, please contact info@grpg.org.

Volunteer in the Historic Orchard