Dilwyn Orchards

Traditional orchards in Herefordshire - can you help?

Traditional orchards are a valuable and distinctive feature of the landscape in many parts of Herefordshire. They are one of the most important habitats for wildlife in the county and are often also of great cultural and historical interest in the local area. Traditional orchards tend to contain tall, 'standard' trees which have been allowed to grow and mature. They tend not to be intensively managed and often contain distinctive local varieties of fruit or nut tree.

Some owners and organisations are already carrying out excellent work to conserve traditional orchards. However, recent survey work has revealed that there are almost 3400 traditional orchards in Herefordshire and it is estimated that many of these are in poor condition, so there is much still to do. For this reason a partnership of interested bodies across the orchard-rich counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire has recently been formed to help develop project ideas and to prepare funding bids to help support more locally based orchard management.

Please contact us if you:

• are interested in volunteering in some capacity to help conserve Herefordshire's traditional orchards (e.g. receiving training to carry out wildlife or archaeological surveys, getting involved in community events or carrying out tasks such as tree planting or pruning);
• are the owner of a traditional orchard and would like some help with its management;
• have some relevant knowledge or expertise that could be shared with others.

It is anticipated that applications to funding bodies to support orchard conservation work will be made in Spring 2012. The more people who register an interest in this subject the more likely it is that these applications will be taken seriously and funding be granted, so please do get in touch.

Please contact the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership office for further information or to register an interest. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Tel: 01684 560616.

More about this project and the partnership behind it can be viewed at: http://www.malvernhillsaonb.org.uk/orchard_project.html