CoFarm Cambridge establishes heritage community orchard
The first stages of creating a community orchard at CoFarm Cambridge have begun.
The heritage orchard will contain nearly 100 fruit trees, including plum, crab apple, medlar and quince. These will mostly consist of old local varieties, including an apple called 'new rock pippin' which originated in Barnwell, Cambridge – the location of CoFarm Foundation’s first agroecological farm.
The orchard area will also contain bespoke meadow mixes consisting of grasses and wildflowers. And, a cover crop will be established to manage weeds in a nature-friendly way ‒ this will include Phacelia and Linum, pretty varieties of purple and blue flowers that not only help crowd out thistles but support pollinating insects.
The planting of trees began in March, following the installation of a deer-proof fence by CoFarm volunteers in February.
CoFarmers planting trees for the community orchard earlier in March
Agroecological farming
The heritage orchard marks CoFarm Foundation’s commitment to agroecological farming, which strives to nurture biological, crop and cultural diversity in food production. CoFarm foundation has recently become the third registered charity – out of more than 185,000 ‒ to make explicit reference to promoting agroecological food and farming in its charitable objects.
Orchards are priority habitats under the UK’s Biodiversity Action Plan, as they provide important refuges for a wide range of insects, birds and small mammals. Fruit trees are particularly good habitats for wildlife because they mature relatively quickly, producing veteran tree features such as hollow trunks and split bark. These provide important sanctuaries for a wide range of species, several of which are prioritised for conservation (1) under the Biodiversity Action Plan.
Planting orchards close to other important habitats, such as hedgerows, generates even greater positive impacts on overall biodiversity and wildlife populations (2). In December, CoFarm Cambridge established a species-rich hedgerow around the perimeter of its urban market garden. The hedgerow is made up of more than 1,000 trees – including blackthorn, hawthorn, hornbeam, beech and crab apple – and sits alongside the orchard within CoFarm Cambridge’s 7-acre plot.
Cared for by the community
The new orchard will be cared for by local volunteers, who helped grow and donate 4.5 tonnes of organically produced vegetables last year within CoFarm Cambridge’s urban market garden. The CoFarm Cambridge community farm site off Barnwell Road has been created with and for local people, with the aim of improving access to nutritious, sustainably produced food while strengthening nature and local communities. More than 260 local people contributed over 3,000 hours of volunteer time to co-creating the farm in 2020, under the professional supervision of horticultural co-leads Peter Wrapson and Dominic Walsh.
The creation of the orchard has been possible thanks to generous support from the Cambridge Water PEBBLE Fund and by Cambridge City Council. In addition, CoFarm Cambridge received generous donations from Melcourt Industries Limited, who donated sixty 45 litre bags of organic compost, and the Cambridge Canopy Project, which has donated 97 additional fruit trees which will be planted throughout the site.
Daniel Clark, Water Resources and Environment Manager for Cambridge Water commented: ‘We were pleased to support the wonderful work of the CoFarm volunteers. Our PEBBLE fund was set up to help increase the variety of natural living things and the diversity of the habitats where they live, by supporting the work of local community groups. The achievements of the CoFarm team so far have been amazing, we’re looking forward to being able to visit in person to see for ourselves.’
Dr Matthew Ling, Project Lead for the Cambridge Canopy Project added: ‘It is a pleasure to be able to support the inspiring and ambitious work being carried out at CoFarm Cambridge. The Cambridge Canopy Project’s main aim is to grow tree canopy cover across the city by 2%. One of the biggest factors in realising this target is tree planting on privately-owned land, which makes up 77% of the city. Donating nearly 100 trees for planting on the privately owned CoFarm Cambridge site contributes to this and provides an example of what can be achieved through effective collaboration.’
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(1) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/biodiversity-the-uk-action-plan
Media enquiries
Jessica Rowbury (jessica.rowbury@cofarm.co)