Wellesley Students Pick Campus Crabapples for Consumption as Part of Paulson Initiative
Over the past three weeks, members of Botanistas, the student organization that supports the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, in collaboration with the Paulson Ecology of Place Initiative, gathered weekly to pick crabapples from the scores of trees across the Wellesley campus, including near Paramecium Pond, Founders Lot, and the Edible Ecosystem. Twenty-six varieties of crabapples, which are smaller and more sour than other stocks of apple, grow at Wellesley.
The event allowed students to engage with the landscape and make use of the abundant edible fruit. The crabapples appeared in a number of delicious dishes and baked goods prepared in the Claflin bakery and served in dining halls on October 17 as part of Wellesley Fresh Dining’s Landscape Collaboration Series. In September, the Wellesley Fresh Landscape Collaboration featured mint from the botanic gardens and edible ecosystem, and next month students will enjoy freshly picked persimmons.
Students pick ripe crabapples from Wellesley’s 26 varieties of trees across campus.
Wellesley’s pastry chef, Aimee Clarke, transforms the fruits of students’ labor into delicious crabapple sauce.
The crabapple sauce is used to make vegan double-chocolate cookies, served in dining halls across campus on October 17.
