Community engagement
“If ever a country were ripe for a nationwide orchard-planting revolution, it is ours, and rediscovering the extraordinary diversity of our indigenous apples and the rich culture of songs, recipes, stories and festivals associated with them would be as much of a benefit as the rebuilding of our food security” Rob Hopkins, Transition Towns
Orchards have long provided a focal point for communities and those located in the school grounds are no exception. Orchards provide a place for learning; about growing food, wildlife and about our local history and traditions. They provide a place for sharing food, skills and celebration.
Establishing a school orchard offers a multitude of opportunities for community participation, from the planting of trees to their care and maintenance, from the harvesting and sharing of fruit to its celebration. Food is something that everyone can relate to. People of every age, background, ethnicity and religion are connected to food through perhaps our most intimate exchange with nature; we eat it. And so, the production and celebration of local food can form a natural basis for building strong communities, as it does worldwide.
All over the country people are planting orchards and celebrating the local history and customs that have come close to being lost forever. Communities are growing food together, strengthening relationships and pride in their neighbourhoods, as well as increasing local food security. For example, Abundance in Sheffield and OrganicLea in North London are teams of volunteers who have been helping to harvest city fruit for years, redistributing the surplus to community cafes, nurseries, Surestart schemes and individuals on a non-profit basis.
There are roles for the green-fingered grandparent who can help prune and care for new trees; the design student who can create professional looking Apple Day posters; for brothers and sisters who can dress trees for Wassailing or use family favourite recipes to make apple pies, cakes and jams; for the local greengrocer who can sell school-grown fruit; and for the parent builder who can help to create seating, sculptures or mosaics to make new orchards even more attractive places in which to stop and sit.
So organise, invite, celebrate, share and witness how the humble orchard can transform your own locality!
The City Academy, Hackney, demonstrated how a school can hold an exciting community event such as Apple Day in its grounds, bringing together a diverse group of people to celebrate local food.
One chilly November morning in 2010 saw a diverse group of people gather in the name of celebrating plans for a new community orchard in the City Academy grounds. The day attracted many local people including friends and families of the pupils, residential neighbours of the school and some interesting apple-loving folk! These included members of Hackney Harvest, a group that locate and harvest unused fruit, the Tree Musketeers, Eco Active, experienced nurseryman and member of the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers, Will Sibley, as well as a descendant of the person who discovered the Bramley’s seedling apple! There were tasty apple-based baked goods of all shapes and sizes for sale and an apple press kindly lent by the London Orchard Project allowed everyone to have a go at pressing their own fresh apple juice, using apples donated by nearby Spittalfield’s market. Traditional apple games such as ‘the longest peel’ competition and that undisputed classic - apple bobbing were enjoyed despite the chilly November conditions. The highlight of the day was the planting of a ‘Flower of Kent’ apple tree, which is said to have prompted Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity! (see photoabove). The tree was donated by Will Sibley and the planting lead by the three muskateers. The day had a great turn out, raising awareness about and celebrating the school’s plan for an organic, community orchard which will benefit the whole community for generations to come (for more photos see City Academy’s page in ‘Participating Schools’, in the London region).
When Alvanley Church of England Primary School had an orchard it was used to inspire a sense of togetherness in the community...
Alvanley Primary School set up an orchard in their grounds in 1989. The school was perfectly situated for a communal orchard, as it is set in the middle of the village near to its conservation area. The orchard began with local apple varieties however the popularity of the communal orchard led to the addition of pears, plums, greengage, medlars and mulberries.
Members of the local community were encouraged to visit the orchard as often as they liked outside of school hours, and even used the grounds to pick fruit in school time – if they made prior arrangements with the school.
As a community orchard, it was maintained and organically managed by all of the community including parents, teachers, children and anyone locally that used the fruit.
The orchard was also used in a variety of ways to enhance the requirements of the curriculum - from school cooking to studying the wildlife within the orchard area - especially those creatures that visit for a taste of the windfalls in autumn and winter!
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