06 Monday Sep 2021
Posted in News, Uncategorized
On Saturday 11th September 2021 from 2 – 4pm in the orchard, we will be searching for as many bugs and minibeasts as we can find. All creatures, once examined and recorded, will be carefully returned to where we found them.
Come along and see what you can find. No experience necessary, and no knowledge of bugs required.
Last time we did this, we found a lot of bugs!
This event is part of Open Cambridge It is a free event, but donations to keep our orchard going are much appreciated.
22 Saturday May 2021
Posted in News, seasons, Uncategorized
Trumpington Community Orchard cannot keep going without volunteer help and support, and we are so pleased that the Tzu Chi Cambridge Collegiate Society enjoyed their volunteering sessions with us, and are looking forward to more. The group have sent us these lovely photos, and one of the Society’s members, Yin, shared her thoughts:
“Contributing to environmental awareness is one of our objectives in forming the Tzu Chi Cambridge Collegiate Society. We are thrilled to start with volunteering in local community gardens. This week, we received a warm welcome from the Trumpington Community Orchard. It was blessed to have a sunny Sunday to put our hands in the soil. We happily meet new friends Susanna and Chris, our lovely local eco-warriors and knowledgeable green lovers. More than volunteering, we learned so much in the Orchard. It was our first time to know such varieties of Cambridgeshire heritage apples. The efforts that the Orchard team put in biodiversity and planting were much appreciated. Susanna also showed us how to recognize commonly seen plants in Cambridge, such as the cute yellow Buttercup, salad burnet, little white Yarrow, and Wood Anemone. It is interesting to see the small bird shed built for the swifts though now it is rented to the sparrows. By the place near Hobson Brook, we also learn about the Brook and Cambridge history. It is amusing to see so many fun things and activities happening in the Trumpington Community Orchard. We were surprised how vivid and lively the Orchard garden is after our volunteering session. We had a lovely time with Susanna getting ourselves close to nature and becoming more aware of our surroundings. We experienced a growth of a healthy mind to respect our environment and shared it with local nature lovers. We hope more friends will join us in the future. Step by step, we will adopt and share an environmentally friendly lifestyle as a community.”
‘The Tzu Chi Cambridge Collegiate Society is an active student society of Cambridge University. The Society is associated with the Tzu Chi Foundation, an international NGO and accredited observer of the United Nations Environment Programme. We share enthusiasm in nature awareness and in learning by doing through local community engagement. We believe that actions, however small, can make a difference and would like to create opportunities for like-minded fellows.’
06 Friday Dec 2019
Posted in News, Uncategorized
In the olden days, rural folk and villagers across the apple-growing counties must have endured the short, cold days and long, cold nights of winter with gloom. What better way to drive that away than to create a ritual involving firelight, noise and cheery singing? And if there was cider involved so much the better. Wassailing, or giving thanks to the orchard, has a long and colourful history and we are happy to be part of its revival.
These days the wassail is less cider-centric, but even more fun. Our annual wassail will be led by Nigel Pennick and we will all follow, singing (or at least making a noise) as we go. Along the way we tie some toast dipped in apple juice in the branches of each tree. All this will protect the apple trees and encourage them to bear a bumper crop next year, so it’s essential arboriculture.
Turn up with a torch or a lantern, and enjoy some hot mulled apple juice. Wrap up warm and be prepared to sing. The event is free but donations to help the orchard and cover our costs are much appreciated. Children very welcome.
Please bear in mind there are no facilities on the orchard. Parking is on the adjacent streets – please park with consideration to our neighbours.
06 Friday Dec 2019
Posted in News, Uncategorized
I love to have a relaxing Christmas, including sitting around watching terrible films, but there’s only so much of that I can enjoy before I begin to feel a bit like a Christmas pudding. If you get that feeling too come and join us on Monday 30 December 2019 for a Bramble Blitz and litter picking session. We will be starting at 10.30 am in the community orchard, and ending up with a free lunch of hearty soup and bread which will be served in the Clay Farm Community Garden building.
This event is supported with a grant from TKMaxx and Homesense.
Our orchard relies on voluteers, so we really do appreciate the efforts of everybody who turns up and helps out. In particular the Orchard team would like to say a big thank you to Anna who is volunteering for an hour every Tuesday between 8 am and 9 am. So far she has helped to rake up cuttings from the scythed meadow and dig out brambles and turns up whatever the weather with a willingness to help.
Be like Anna – Come along and see what you can do. You will leave feeling more warm and fuzzy than a Christmas jumper.
09 Saturday Feb 2019
Posted in News, seasons, Uncategorized
We hold a maintenance session every second Sunday of the month (11am – 1pm), and every fourth Thursday (10am – 12pm)
If you love our orchard, and want to help keep it special, please come along to one of our regular maintenance sessions. We provide all the tools you need, and lots of help and advice, so if you’ve never done any gardening before, don’t worry. It’s a great way to spend some time in the outside and meet new people
.These sessions are when we look after the trees and check what needs to be done. For each season we will check the health of the trees, attend to any pests and diseases, and make the orchard look as beautiful as possible. It’s vital work to keep the orchard going and we rely on our volunteers to look after these trees, so we really appreciate the help. You don’t have to stay for the whole session, just come along when you can. Superivised children are welcome but please note we have no toilet/hand washing etc facilities on site or nearby. Please wear clothes suitable for outdoor work.
DATES FOR 2019: Every second Sunday of the month (11am – 1pm), and every fourth Thursday (10am – 12pm)
Sunday 10 Feb
Thursday 28 Feb
Sunday 10 March
Thursday 28 March
Sunday 14 April
Thursday 25 April
Sunday 12 May
Thursday 23 May
Sunday 9 June
Thursday 27 June
Sunday 14 July
Thursday 25 July
Sunday 11 August
Thursday 22 August
Sunday 8 Sept
Thursday 26 Sept
Sunday 13 Oct
Thursday 24 Oct
Sunday 10 Nov
Thursday 28 Oct
Sunday 8 Dec
(Thursday 26 Dec – probably not going to happen!)
18 Tuesday Dec 2018
Posted in News, seasons, Uncategorized
Sunday 13th January 2019 2pm
“Wassail wassail all over the town…
”
So begins the traditional Wassail carol – celebrating Christmas, winter and the bountiful harvest to come. Our own orchard wassail is a bit of a tradition in its own right, having been going for a mighty ten years. This year we have story telling for everyone, a great way of setting the scene and leading us into the fun and mystery of singing to apple trees as darkness falls.
Come and see us. It’s free (although donations are much appreciated) and it’s suitable for all the family. Because we’ll be outside in an orchard, wear warm clothes, bring a torch. Dressing up is encouraged – it’s usually Holly Kings and Ivy Queens but we have had a 6ft tall penguin come along in the past, so anything goes!
10 Tuesday Jul 2018
Posted in News
We are celebrating our 10th Birthday on Thursday 30th August 2018
All are welcome to come along and listen to a story or two about apples, orchards and the amazing creatures that live in them
Afternoon
Tea party for children and their carers, starting 2.30pm with cake and apple juice with storytelling starting at 3.30pm for about an hour. Our storyteller is Marion Leeper.
Evening
More details will follow on, keep an eye on our Facebook event page too.
12 Tuesday Jun 2018
Posted in News
On Saturday 9th June we hosted the AGM of the East of England Apples and Orchards Project. This organisation grows all the varieties of apples and other orchard fruit that originated in the East of England, and does a lot of research into their origins and how to grow them. It’s open for anyone interested in fruit to join, and it is really worthwhile.
After the business part of the meeting, it was our turn to give a short presentation on how this little orchard came into being. We could hardly believe it was first thought of over ten years ago! We used lots of photos to jog out memories – some of the photos you can find by exploring the links and early posts on this site. It wwas good to have the comments from so many other expert growers and owners of community orchards.
Many of those present joined us for a tour of the orchard itself. As you can see from these picures, the wildflower meadow around the trees was the star of the show. Everyone admired the swift tower, and looked to see the swifts themselves. Hopefully swift towers will be a feature of more community orchards, and the EEAOP site itself, in the future.
21 Thursday Dec 2017
As I write this it’s the Winter Solstice, and thick fog outside. No wonder that winter festivals of light, dancing and music are so popular, and so much a part of rural life in the past. So shake off the gloom and look forward to Wassail 2018! Each year we like to do something a bit different, so for our Tenth Wassail (I know, I can’t believe that but it’s true, this will be the tenth one)…anyway, we are very pleased to be hosting a demonstration of green woodworking skills.
Come along to the Orchard from 12:30 – 2:00pm for the woodworking, with music and Wassail traditions afterwards from 2:30pm.
Special thanks to Nigel Pennick’s Rabble Rousing Wassail Band for providing the music to scare bad spirits out of the apple trees. If you’d like to bring anything to make a noise with, that would be great. Dress up if you want, and in any case wrap up warm. Hot mulled apple juice and various apple bakes will be served to keep out the cold
The event is free but donations are appreciated. Please park with consideration for the residents.
28 Wednesday May 2014
Posted in News, Uncategorized
The swift nesting tower is up, and although there are no occupants so far, some birds have been seen circling round it. This has been an amazing project, and the tower is already making a great addition to the orchard skyline, so we thought it was time we held an event to celebrate it and say ‘thank you’ to everyone who helped. And you can’t have a new building without a Grand Opening, can you?
So come along to the Orchard on Sunday 29 June between 11am – 1pm for information about swifts and how to help them. Tea and cake will be on offer, donations (of cakes or cash!) very gratefully received.
