We are appealing for £2,000 from our community to contribute to our Redruth Orchard Project that seeks to:
1. Create a new Community Orchard/s
2. Work with the local community to maintain & rejuvenate existing orchards and fruit trees.
3. Share traditional orchard skills, provide more apple pressing opportunities using the new community apple press, and other apple related activities to help try to ensure that apples grown in this area of Cornwall are put to good use rather than wasted, as part of our commitment to promoting food security, sustainability and community action.
* Please note that in addition, we are appealing for funds elsewhere, and for match funding from Cornwall Council (see note below for more information).
Community orchards provide fruit, locally, for everyone. Most communities were surrounded by orchards in the past, but many of these were scrubbed out years ago. Today we see apples coming from all over the UK - and indeed worldwide - to be sold in our local shops when we could be growing our own fruit. Fewer food miles means we look after our environment and it's cheaper - in fact - community orchards offer local, free food for all. Not only that, but they are spaces that are wildlife friendly and can offer important social spaces for everybody for now and the future.
Community Orchards are an example of the few remaining free social spaces that exist where people can engage in common activities, have fun, learn and get away from pressures elsewhere. Such spaces are vital for the health and well-being of our community at a time when living expenses and costs have been increasing.
Would you like to see Redruth filled with orchards and fruit trees for the benefit of local people? Would you like to have somewhere to apply your skills or time and meet with others on a common orchard project? Maybe you are someone seeking more horticultural experience to add to your range of skills? Are you passionate about wildlife and want to ensure that we expand the number of spaces that improve biodiversity? We hope to touch on these in this project and welcome involvement by all.
Traditional orchards are also designated priority habitats that offer an abundance of biodiversity and fantastic habitat value for wildlife.
Resilient Orchards Cornwall was set up in 2021 to deliver orchard management services and to support the creation of new community orchards, strengthen the orchard network across Cornwall, offer harvesting and apple pressing sessions and other orchard related initiatives. We are a not-for-profit organisation guided by cooperative principles and are always seeking new ways to grow the orchard network, find new spaces for community orchards and support community groups to look after them. We also grow a small number of Cornish apple trees.
In 2022 Resilient Orchards Cornwall have (amongst other things):
- worked with the community on a Cornish Orchard Bioblitz in partnership with Budding Nature CIC, funded by South West Water;
- Provided a professional orchard pruning and advice service to private and community orchard owners;
- delivered pruning and grafting training workshops and planted apple trees in community spaces;
- engaged many families and individuals in community apple pressing events in Redruth, Camborne and Portreath to get people involved in pressing local apples to make local juice for themselves and for events they run;
- Set up a community apple press hire service to help try to ensure that apples grown in Cornwall are put to good use rather than wasted, as part of our commitment to promoting food security, sustainability and community action;
- Made important connections with and between community orchards to share skills, knowledge and resources to expand the Cornwall Orchard Network;
- worked with Kehellend Horticultural Trust, Forests for Cornwall, Cornwall Council and Cormac, Redruth Town Council, Food Troops, Camborne All Saints Community Centre amongst many others to deliver activities successfully as above, with very limited funds.
We now have land permissions to work on a site in Redruth at Trenoweth Estate, North Country to create a new community orchard. We have helped to set up a new community group Trenoweth Community Orchard Group to start work and the past month local people have started work clearing the space. All are welcome to get involved. We currently meet on Sundays between 2-4pm, but please do get in contact for more information.
We have 3 uses for the funds we seek, and depending on what we achieve will do so in this order:
1. Creation of new Community Orchard for Redruth
So far, we've been using the tools that we all have from home. The orchard group would like to get some dedicated tools in order to become more efficient and to encourage more people to get involved that may not already have tools themselves.
If we could fund a space for storage we can then construct a water harvesting system from it so that we can water the fruit trees in the growing season with an aim to avoid the use of mains water as much as possible. Using funds to bring in a permaculture consultant with experience of water conservation and harvesting would help members of the group who are interested to consider other options for opportunities with regards to rainwater collection, diversion, ponds etc and for local people to gain training from an expert in the process.
We aim to commence planting this Winter 2022 and have received funding from Forests for Cornwall for some standard/vigorous fruit trees in addition to locally grafted apple trees. We seek to ensure it's a space for as wide a range of people to contribute in different ways as possible. Funds for tree ties, stakes and guards are also another priority and for which we require funds. We hope local people will be keen to plant a fruit tree this Winter and perhaps adopt a tree to care for by helping to water it in the growing season as well as mulching and pruning. Please join the Trenoweth Orchard Group elist to find out more and get involved: [email protected]
2. Restoration and maintenance of existing orchards
We'd like to run maintenance sessions to ensure existing orchards in Redruth are well looked after and to help support local people to care for the fruit trees local to them. If well looked after, mulched when young and pruned with care, they will provide a bountiful harvest in the future. We have a diverse range of orchard management experience and resources to share and would like to see that all our communities have the confidence and skills to maintain our local orchards and fruit trees. There is at least one existing orchard that would benefit from a committed orchard care group.
3. Sharing orchard skills, community apple pressing, harvesting and other apple activities
We'd like to get the community apple press out to more community spaces next year Autumn 2023, helping to make use of all these apples around us by turning them into juice for local people, as well as for eating, cooking and other uses. In addition, we would hope to provide a portion of harvested apples to food surplus venues like Food Troops in Victoria Park and the food bank. Setting up a community apple harvesting network would be ideal to assist with this.
* Please note that Resilient Orchards Cornwall are in the process of applying for funding elsewhere in addition to this, as well as match funding from Cornwall Council, and that this Crowdfunder is just a small percentage of the project costs we are seeking for further orchard related work. We realise the costs of living are having a big impact on many, and we understand there will be those who are unable to contribute. We would appreciate it if you could forward this information to others, share the details, talk about the new community orchard with others. Raising awareness of our project is just as important to us and getting more people involved in the new community orchard - Thank you!
For more information about Resilient Orchards Cornwall CIC or to collaborate please see the website here or email [email protected].
For more information about traditional orchards as designated priority habitats see People's Trust for Endangered Species Traditional Orchard Project.
