Who We Are
Regrowing Common Land since 2017
The Common Orchard Project works to install and maintain hundreds of small orchard plantings across Greater Cincinnati and grows “commonly held” resources by educating communities on fresh food and urban land management.
These common orchards provide increased food access, tree canopy, walkable greenspace and community building in neighborhoods that have experienced disinvestment.
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Founded in 2017 by Chris Smyth, the effort has planted 27 orchards across Cincinnati and 3 in Cleveland, with plans to install at least 10 more, every year.
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Chris was featured on the Together As One JB Podcast in April 2020:
And was a guest on WMKV's Outdoor Life podcast with Carol Mundy in June 2021:
Our Network
In 2021, The Common Orchard Project was been adopted by Green Umbrella as an "accelerator project." Chris Smyth continues to serve as the director of the project as it incubates within Green Umbrella and will plant more orchards every year!
The project is an affiliate of Giving Grove, a non-profit that supports the development of little orchards across the country. Launched in 2013, The Giving Grove has 273 orchards across the U.S. that provide free, holistically-grown fruits, nuts and berries for neighborhoods with high rates of food insecurity. After finding success with its model in Kansas City, The Giving Grove began expanding to other cities with high food insecurity rates, launching affiliate programs in St. Louis and Omaha in 2017, and Memphis, Louisville, and rural Kansas in 2020. Giving Grove’s expansion plans include launching affiliates in 14 more U.S. cities by 2025.
Our Staff
Marie Hopkins ​Compost Coordinator
Marie is an active advocate in Cincinnati's growing composting communities and one of the original co-founders of Queen City Commons, a compost collection service focused on deepening relationships between our communities farms and soils. Marie is excited to continue building composting infrastructure networks
Chris Smyth ​Director
Chris began the Common Orchard Project in 2017 while working at Price Hill Will. Since then he has gone on to start the Southern Ohio Chestnut Company, and dedicates every other moment to healing the Commons between people and plants. He currently lives in Price Hill, Cincinnati.