New Community Orchard Planted

Spades were in the ground on Thursday 18th February as the Crosstown Community Orchard was created by a team of volunteers.

Knutsford’s first community orchard is located on Mobberley Road behind Mallard Close and is now home to 38 varied fruit trees.

A grant from the Tree Council provided the funding needed to purchase an array of different apple, pear, plum, cherry and damson trees, alongside the less common medlar, greengage and quince. Trustees worked with Kelsall based Morrey’s Nursery to select the right mix of trees to ensure cross pollination.

The small cohort of volunteers, who signed up via the charity’s mailing list, worked in socially distanced short shifts to create the new orchard with expert guidance from the Cheshire Wildlife Trust.

Chairman of the Crosstown Community Orchard, Adam Keppel-Green hailed the day as “the start of creating what will be an amazing community asset.”

“Last summer this was just an idea I had in my head, but thanks to the work of my fellow trustees and the efforts of our volunteers we’ve brought that idea to life” Adam said.

“On behalf of the trustees I’d like to thank the volunteers who came to help plant the orchard, it was so rewarding for us to look across the orchard at the end of the day and see that after a few months of discussion we’ve created something great for the community.”

The charity is now working on the next phase of developing the open space, with plans for planting a border of wild harvest saplings provided by the Woodland Trust and installing benches, bird boxes and a bin.

The charity will be issuing a regular e-newsletter to keep the community informed about plans at the orchard; you can sign up for this on their website at www.crosstowncommunityorchard.org.uk. You can also connect via social media on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

1. The Crosstown Community Orchard is a charitable incorporated organisation registered with the Charity Commission.

2. A community orchard is a collection of fruit trees shared by a community in a publicly accessible area.

3. The charity was launched in September and is manged by seven local trustees