Volunteers needed to help protect Essex’s orchard heritage
By: News Archive
The region’s orchards are an integral part of the landscape and an important source of biodiversity. They are also a rich, but under-researched, historical record.
The Landscape Group, part of the University of East Anglia’s (UEA’s) School of History, has been awarded £477,700 of National Lottery funding for a three-year project, Orchard’s East, to survey and record traditional orchards across the East of England.
The cash was awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and extends initiatives already developed by partner organisations, the Suffolk Traditional Orchards Group and the East of England Apples and Orchards Project, across Bedfordshire, Cambridge, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
The project’s Essex launch is on 25 March and anyone interested in orchards is invited to attend the event in Marks Tey for a morning of presentations, including an introduction to historical orchard research by Tom Williamson, Professor of Landscape History at UEA and Head of the Landscape Group. There will also be an afternoon visit to the nearby historic Crapes Fruit Farm
Prof Tom Williams said: “We’re hoping that people will volunteer to work with us on the project to help us discover more about Essex’s rich history of fruit cultivation.”
“We’ll examine traditional orchards’ environmental and cultural impact by identifying surviving sites, researching the history of fruit growing, surveying wildlife in orchards, as well as restoring important old orchards and creating new community orchards.”
Crapes Fruit Farm is a 15 acre orchard, currently in its third generation. The farm grows varied apple collection, including traditional and lesser-known varieties such as Blenheim Orange and D’Arcy Spice. Low input management means the orchard is a haven for wildlife - including bats, stoats and deer, plus a number of insect species, which are predators of fruit pests - such as aphids.
The launch is at Marks Tey Village Hall, Old London Road, Marks Tey, Colchester CO6 1EJ. The event is free but booking is necessary. Please bring your own lunch, when there will be an opportunity to talk, look at stands and try something fruity. Tea, coffee and juice will be provided.
For more details or to book, email gen@orchardseast.org.uk or visit www.orchardseast.org.uk
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