Bisley Community Orchard
The third stage of the revitalization of the Bisley Allotment's site is our community orchard of local Gloucestershire fruit trees. The idea was to celebrate Gloucestershire’s varieties, provide a community fruit resource for the village, and help enhance biodiversity by creating new habitat for bees and other wildlife.
Bisley village residents voted to give the £400 money won as a result of Bisley's Calor Gas 'Gloucestershire Environment Village of the Year' Award 2008 to this project. A further £600 grant was raised from the 02 Fund.
To start the project, Dave Kaspar of Days Orchard (Day's Apple Juice) led a well attended orchard workshop during Bisley's Zero Waste Week in January 2009. A plan for the new community orchard was devised by Jilly Cobbe with the help of the Trustees of the Charity of the Ancient Parish of Bisley who own the Chestergate Allotment site and lease it to the Parish Council.
The Community Orchard Group bought 17 indigenous Gloucestershire Apple varieties and two perry pears. Planting was delayed by the terrible winter of 2009-10 but finally 25 people came together and the little trees were planted on 7 February 2010. We celebrated with home made apple cakes and apple juice and a wonderful song written specially for our Orchard by Bairbre McAteer. We sang the song and celebrated our orchard:
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A blessing on our trees For our Bisley community. May you grow up strong And give us fruit all harvest long. We’ll plant you firm and true May it rain and shine on you. Here’s wishing us good cheer And see you back again next year. |  Planting the trees – Lyn Hemming, Kate, Michael and Clare Garrett, Rob Wheeler, Susie Bromley in the background. Photo by Lesley Greene |
An audit of Bisley's garden fruit trees is under way – let us know if you have fruit trees in your garden on our Parish Council feedback form.
For more information on orchards and orchard conservation see the Orchard Network website.
For more information on the Cotswold Tree Wardens see their website.
31 August 2010
Bisley with Lypiatt Parish Council