Orchard Workshop - Planning and Planting

General Information:

The Severn Treescapes: Dead Wood Society has teamed up with the Wye Valley National Landscape to run a series of workshops to increase confidence among landowners to plant and look after traditional orchards and fruit trees.

Being a dual purpose land use, orchards can provide a vertical farming element to traditional farming and ultimately provide a new income from the fruit, as well as providing a fabulous habitat for a huge range of wildlife and beneficial insects. This series of workshops looks to provide information, education and confidence to enable participants to manage their orchards successfully.

Orchards are iconic features in the Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire landscape, but have declined by at least 75 % in the last 50 yrs. The drive to plant new and restore old traditional orchards will help to reverse the decline of this priority habitat and of the wildlife that depends on it.

Well managed orchards create an opportunity to make a significant contribution to the wildlife potential in the vicinity. Orchards provide excellent feeding habitat for birds, bats and invertebrates, and where adjacent to strong mature hedgerow networks radiating towards nearby mature woodlands, unimproved grasslands and other orchards, increase connectivity across the wider landscape.

Martin Hayes Chief Surveying Officer, Gloucestershire Orchard Trust, will be running the workshop. He has many years of experience managing traditional orchards and hosting events such as this.

Planning and Planting:

Parking is limited please car share wherever possible. W3W for car park by the orchard is ///interests.skirt.admit.

The Workshop will equip participants with the knowledge and skills to plan and plant a new traditional orchard, or replant a lost one and to care for their new trees.

All aspects of traditional orchard design and planting methods will be covered followed by practical tasks of planting fruit trees and erecting guards to protect them.

Questions and discussion are encouraged throughout the day.

The day includes a morning learning the theory and then an afternoon of practical work, putting the theory into practice. Stout boots and good outdoor clothing are essential as the afternoon will be spent enjoying the elements.

All equipment will be provided.

Bring your own packed lunch, hot drinks and cake is provided.