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In the News: A recent article in the Newbury Weekly News during our last pruning event at City Rec
Here's two photos showing our journey raising the orchards, from planting on the left to May Bank Holiday weekend this year on the right.
Barn Crescent City Rec
Lock Island Raised Bed - planting June 2021
We have an edible food bed on Lock Island - just by the Newbury canal lock in the centre of town.
First planted in 2019, it was left fallow last year due to the various lockdowns, but here we are in June finally getting it planted up again.
Many courgette plants were donated, so here's hoping for a decent crop.
Expanding Barn Crescent orchard 2021 - Easter planting
Newbury Friends of the Earth teamed up with West Berkshire Council, Newbury Town Council and Hungerford Town Council to create three woods in the district as living memorials to the traumas of the coronavirus pandemic. You can find out more by searching for Lockdown Wood on Facebook or go to https://www.newburyfoe.co.uk/lockdownwoods.
On Good Friday and Saturday 3rd April we successfully planted 13 trees, including 2 pears, 2 plums and a damson with a small group of volunteers in 4 sessions. Many thanks to those who came along so we could finish the first phase of Lockdown Wood.
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Despite the lock down members of the group can still pass by some of the orchards during their daily walk. Here are some photos of some early blossom:
Here's Barn Crescent, on the left in late March and on the right mid-April. The warm weather over Easter really making a difference.
Winter orchard pruning 2020
Here's photos from our first winter pruning event held on Jan 18th, organised with Newbury Town Council as part of their Britain in Bloom entry community work for the year.
Whilst below are happy goats owned by Kathy, one of the volunteers on the day, enjoying a winter treat of apple wood. Goats really do eat anything.
This year's Apple Day was on Saturday 5th October.
Here's some of the team in action with our hand-cranked juicing machine.
We identified (probably!) some half dozen apple varieties brought in by visitors and seem to be getting better each year.
Many thanks to all our volunteers on the day.
Lock Island raised bed planting for Britain In Bloom
The judges have come and gone and the town is awaiting the result.
They saw the raised bed and other displays done by the town council and Newbury Secret Garden around the lock and took a short canal boat trip where we made a brief presentation about our Community Orchards. Here's hoping we all did enough to impress them.
The trolleys are getting into place for this year's Newbury In Bloom. Here's some photos from Newbury Station, who have once again given us space on each platform, even, even during the electrification upgrade work for the station.
Here are some photos from last year's Apple Day
Orchard planting in April 2017 with St Joseph's school.
