The project

Kent’s traditional apple, pear, cherry, plum and cobnut orchards have declined over the last 50 years and now account for only 0.43% of the county’s land area.

Kent Orchards for Everyone has brought together organisations, residents, schools, colleges and orchard experts to help restore and conserve 13 traditional orchards and provide new ways of helping local people to appreciate this rich and distinctive orchard heritage.

The organisation

Kent Countryside Partnerships are a collection of individual conservation partnerships who collectively cover Kent and the London Borough of Bexley.

Thirteen traditional orchards were selected for restoration all under the ownership of community groups. A further two sites in private ownership were included in the project for training and community engagement purposes. The project aimed to involve over 2,750 volunteers.

The funding

The National Lottery Heritage Fund supported the project with £236,000. The project was also supported with funding from other organisations.

The results

Consultation work revealed that local people valued traditional orchards as part of their heritage. Many wanted to gain skills in orchard management while also learning about cultural heritage, wildlife and fruit varieties growing within local orchards.

The consultation identified reasons why people weren’t currently using or caring for their local orchards, which included poor physical access, lack of information about where to go and what to do, nervousness about visiting orchards and a lack of skills and experience in managing historic fruit trees.

Additional issues included the need to record older people’s memories of traditional orchards and customs, the need to understand more about the natural heritage of historic orchards and the lack of any knowledge sharing between community orchard groups.

Meeting out outcomes

The selected orchards were surveyed and existing customs and traditions, such as wassailing, were recorded. The information helped to develop a four-year programme of activity to improve the condition of the trees, to enhance habitats and to help local communities learn how to best manage the orchards and celebrate their heritage.

The future

The orchards are being restored whilst orchard wardens and volunteers are being trained. Training plans ensure people gain a range of skills, including:

• orchard management and surveying
• replanting, pruning and grafting
• hedgerow management
• meadow restoration
• produce harvesting and usage
• volunteer and project management
• community participation, fundraising and evaluation

New access and interpretation is being created and innovative, fun educational experiences for all ages are being developed, including drama, cookery days and photography sessions.

Top tips

• Strengthening community capacity and partnerships is critical for long-term sustainability, for example, establishing a volunteer orchard warden scheme.
• Establish support networks as wide as possible. The wardens are ambassadors for their own sites, developing links and sharing their experiences with other orchard groups across Kent.
• Share your learnings to inspire and equip others to support natural heritage. Kent Orchards for Everyone set up a one-stop-shop of resources, including equipment, advice and a digital hub for online learning.