Category: 2022

Apple Harvest and Juicing Day October 2022

This year we have had a bumper apple crop. With so many apples to pick from our productive trees we needed lots of members to help! We spent a busy day harvesting the apples. Some were packed for members to collect to eat and some were turned into delicious apple juice. We now have a new apple press which came in very handy.

Earth Hour 26th March 2022

It has been three years since we celebrated Earth Hour together in the orchard. Earth Hour is an international movement originating in Australia in 2007 in collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature. Every year at the end of March, people are encouraged to turn off their lights between 8.30 and 9.30 pm to highlight the impact that climate change is having on the world.

This year members of the orchard and allotments turned off their lights and headed up to the orchard with coffee and cakes to share. It was a beautiful clear night and Simon Johnson, an orchard member, lead a tour of the night skies. Every time we celebrate Earth Hour in the orchard we see a shooting star. This year we spotted a spectacular meteor blaze across the sky leaving a bright trail behind it. Well done to the Martin family for spotting it!

Work morning in the orchard

Now that Spring is approaching there is still lots of work and maintenance to be done. Chris Davis led our session. First he pointed out that some of our apple trees have a disease called canker. This is very damaging to our apple trees and can easily spread. Chris pointed out examples and explained how to deal with it. This involves cutting away the affected parts of the tree. If any members visiting the orchard see canker on the trees, please let Chris know.

Chris also lead a quick demonstration on pruning before the orchard members began pruning our apple trees.

And finally… our soft fruit bed received a well needed prune.

Earth Hour 26th March 2022 at 8.30 pm

After a two year gap, we are going to celebrate Earth Hour together again in the Orchard! Our orchard and allotment members will be switching off their lights, and settling down in the dark, peaceful surroundings of the orchard to celebrate Earth Hour together.

Earth Hour was started in 2007 by WWF and partners as a symbolic lights-out event in Sydney to raise awareness of climate change, Earth Hour is now one of the world’s largest grassroots movements for the environment. Held every year on the last Saturday of March, Earth Hour engages supporters in more than 190 countries and territories, all taking action to ensure a brighter future for people and planet.

For more information please click here to visit the Earth Hour website