Traditional orchards – National Trust launches conservation project

29/04/2009 12:05:11 Windfall brings fresh hope for traditional orchards - 90% of which have disappeared

April 2009. A new project has been launched to halt the loss of traditional orchards across England and help revive their fortunes.

More than 60 per cent of traditional orchards in England have vanished since the 1950s as a result of development pressures, conversion to other uses and small scale producers suffering at the hands of the economics of fruit growing, which have ultimately led to the neglect of orchards. A further 30% have been converted to intensive management, leaving just 10% of traditional orchards in existence.

Dr. David Bullock, Head of Nature Conservation at the National Trust, said: "Traditional orchards have been disappearing at an alarming rate over the last 60 years.

Unique habitat
"We are in real danger of losing these unique habitats - and the wildlife, local fruit varieties and their rich heritage - and if we don't act in some cases we will not even know what local varieties of fruit have been lost."

Funding from Natural England's Countdown 2010 Biodiversity Action fund has enabled the recruitment of an Orchard Officer to champion the cause of traditional orchards on behalf of the Habitat Action Plan group. The importance of traditional orchards to wildlife was recognised by the Government in 2007.

Poul Christensen, Acting Chair of Natural England, said: "Traditional orchards are a classic feature of the English landscape and are ideal habitats for threatened and protected species. Successful orchards are worth their weight in gold, not just for the valuable contribution they make to the economy but to the subsequent enhancement of these precious wildlife habitats. This project is one of many across the country using grants from our Countdown 2010 fund, to help halt biodiversity loss."

Just 5 trees constitute and orchard
A traditional orchard is defined as having at least five fruit trees. The trees are widely spaced and allowed to reach a veteran-hollowed and gnarled-stage.

They are subject to low intensity management with few or no chemical inputs and they're often grazed by animals such as sheep or cut for hay. Though they are relatively small in area traditional orchards are important for a wide range of species.

Bees, beetles & woodpeckers
At a time of decline for the honey bee traditional orchards provide a welcome source of pollen and nectar, while elusive insects such as the noble chafer beetle (a Biodiversity Action Plan species) lurk in the dead wood of older fruit trees. Traditional orchards also provide nesting and feeding areas for declining bird species such as lesser spotted woodpeckers.

The UK signed up to restore national biodiversity at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. It wasn't until traditional orchards were recognised as a Priority Habitat that the domesticated biodiversity of apple, pear, plum, damson and cherry varieties - received the protection they deserve.

The traditional orchards project will go a long way to raising the

profile of local fruit varieties, and so contributing to their conservation and use. Work is now set to begin on helping to improve the conditions of existing orchards and helping to create new ones to build a secure future.

There will be wildlife and fruit variety surveys to help establish a better understanding of these habitats and training workshops on the practicalities of managing an orchard from pruning to planting and propagating.

National Trust orchards
With more than 100 traditional orchards in its care, the National Trust recognises the importance of the link between orchard habitats and its produce.

At Killerton, in Devon, apples from the traditional orchards, including two varieties unique to the estate, Killerton Sweet and Killerton Sharp, are used to make cider and chutney and the profits are ploughed back into the essential work to maintain the orchards.

Kate Merry, Orchard Officer, added: "We now have a real opportunity to reverse the decline of traditional orchards and recognise the important role they play in our cultural and natural heritage; if we don't act there is a real danger that they will not survive the twenty-first century.

"Working with organisations such as The People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), Common Ground, and local orchard groups will be the key to creating a new generation of orchards across England."