April 11, 2026: Pruning for Resilience with Walker Korby

Description

Instructor: Walker Korby

Pronouns: he/him/his

Date: Saturday, April 11, 2026

Duration: 5 hours

Time: 9AM to 2PM EST

Location: 80 Bassett Road, Shelburne MA 01370

Cost: sliding scale of $80 – $120 (includes lunch)

# of Participants: 12

Experience Level: All are welcome.

Program Description

The fundamentals of any pruning regimen should always start with understanding how trees grow, break, heal, and degrade over time. Once you have internalized some of this knowledge and understand the effects our actions can have, we are well on our way to a successful pruning journey. In this class we will enter this journey through the process of reclaiming some older fruit trees that had been left untended for many years. The concepts and guidelines that we will focus on include what and where to remove in order to encourage a structure that will withstand wind, ice, heavy fruits, and last for generations. This class is designed to enhance your understanding and create a framework of the why and how we make pruning cuts. It will be appropriate for beginners as well as those who are already comfortable on a pruning ladder with a pair of Felcos.

After our morning instructional time, we will break for a shared lunch in the Farmhouse. Following lunch, the group will move outside to the Bassett Homestead Orchard to evaluate the results of last year’s pruning and begin making the next set of cuts to continue to improve the health of the orchard. Bring along any pruning tools you have, a pair of safety glasses and a willingness to learn!

About our Instructor

Walker Korby is a lifelong lover of trees and enjoys integrating a broad set of experiences and passions into his instruction. From his backgrounds in naturalist studies, ecology, forestry, arboriculture, and land stewardship, Walker weaves a deep commitment to connecting people with the land they steward into all of his work. Working with landowners, land trusts, and municipalities with his company Terramor, LLC to create and maintain working and recreational landscapes in the region. He lives with his wife and three children in Montague where he serves as a Firefighter/EMT.

Please contact us with any questions at [email protected].

Our sliding scale fee allows us to keep our programming accessible to a wide range of individuals through the generosity of our community. Please select the option that feels the most comfortable for you.