Community Ochards

An orchard is a group of five or more fruit trees. They predominantly consist of varieties of Apple, Pear, Plum and Cherry trees. As well as creating habitats for wildlife, orchards and other trees cool the urban environment, play an important role in taking up excess rainfall to prevent flooding and help to improve air quality and productivity.

The community orchard movement is young to the Planting Our Future team, we’ve created 9 orchards across Solihull in local parks and green spaces, they are freely accessible to any open space visitor.

The long-term ambition is for each orchard to be looked after by local people and be a place to share knowledge and show how to live well in nature. Community Orchards offer an excellent place for people to relax, work and learn. They are a way of reviving an interest in traditional horticultural skills as well as enabling people to engage with nature and gain an understanding of where their food comes from.

Our aims are for the orchards to:-

• Encourage community involvement and act as a focal point for community activities, as well as being used as a meeting place for local events, such as Apple day and National Tree Week.

• Encourage opportunities for learning new skills in planting, tree care and harvesting as the orchards grows.

• Encourage wildlife to inhabit the area, the fruit trees will help improve biodiversity by providing food for birds, mammals and lots of insects.

• Encourage local schools to use orchards as open-air classrooms and and as an educational resource for learning.

• Promote the health benefits of eating and trying new fruits.

• To raise awareness of where fruit comes from and how it grows.

Our Community Orchards are:-

Babbs Mill Rec

Coldlands Wood

Hope Coppice

Malvern Park (Voco)

Olton Park

Palmers Rough Rec

Shirley Park

Willow Park

Getting involved

The orchards are overseen by the Planting our Future team, in partnership with our idverde UK. If you would like to get involved with planting, growing and enjoying fruit trees, contact the team via plantingourfuture@solihull.gov.uk

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