LEGACY: A Redlands man starts a drive to promote locally grown citrus fruits to residents.
By Roberto Hernandez, the Press-Enterprise, published Friday, May 20, 2005
Saving citrus
The Inland Orange Conservancy's effort to preserve the area's remaining citrus groves through a membership program this year has:
Recruited: 1,094 Inland residents
Distributed: 100 tons of fruit
Helped: 14 growers
Generated: $15,000 in donations
Information: www.inlandorange.com or (909) 794-4484
REDLANDS—Bob Knight's drive to save Redlands' dwindling citrus groves is working, and now there are plans to expand the effort into Riverside County.
More than 1,000 Inland residents have joined Knight's Inland Orange Conservancy, which gets members to sample locally grown navel and Valencia oranges produced by growers who might otherwise be tempted to give up on their crops.
"It's something that people can eat day after day after day," said Knight, conservancy founder and general manager of the city's last remaining citrus packinghouse, at his office this week.
Now that conservancy members have sampled what are touted as the best-tasting oranges in the world, the new challenge is to see if they will be interested in the juicy prospects for the next growing season.
Housing Replaces Fruit
Knight, a fourth-generation orange-grower, founded the conservancy last year after he noticed how much development had sprung up in areas once dominated by citrus groves.
William Wilson Lewis III / The Press-Enterprise
Grapefruit, along with tangelos and blood oranges, have been mixed into the citrus bags that conservancy members get.
Urban sprawl and intense competition from overseas growers have led to a decline in the number of citrus groves, according to Knight, growers and agricultural officials. In the end, growers, especially those with just a few acres, typically earn less for their fruit than the costs of irrigation and upkeep. Some opt to sell their crops at farmers markets. Others sell their groves to developers, who clear them for tract housing.
"It's just kind of shocking how over the past 10 years things have changed," Lois Georghiou, a conservancy member, said this week. "There aren't any orange trees. Just housing, housing, housing."
Weekly Citrus
The conservancy spent the past few months working to buck the decline. For $65, a member receives two five-pound bags of picked-yesterday citrus per week during the 14- to 16-week season. Pick-up spots include local stores, such as the Olive Market. The conservancy donated $15 for each member that local organizations signed up, Knight said.
About 1,094 residents and 14 growers participated this season, which ended in April. Most members were from Redlands, but some were from Loma Linda, Yucaipa, Highland, San Bernardino, Running Springs, Moreno Valley and Riverside, Knight said.
Knight said tangelos, blood oranges and grapefruit were sometimes included. The mix also included lemons and avocados for a guacamole theme, he said.
The conservancy donated about $15,000 to 56 groups, including the Redlands Historical Museum Association. About 100 tons of citrus were distributed. Members said the conservancy was an innovative way of supporting local groups and preserving the area's agricultural legacy.
"That's kind of exciting in terms of trying to (maintain) the feel that Redlands once had and still has in many parts," said Lois Wilson, a conservancy and association board member.
Reach Roberto Hernandez at (909) 806-3060 or rhernandez@pe.com