Community Orchard Pathway (4/4): Using
Part four of guide created with Manchester Fruit Trees. The previous sections are: planning; planting; caring; and this is using.
The orchard isn’t just a pretty space. It’s a place to bring people together to connect with nature and each other. We particularly focus on three events, which are spread out over the year.
Blossom Picnics
Orchards are uniquely beautiful places at the start of Spring. It’s when the weather is warming up and a good time to have an outside picnic. This is usually right at the end of April or the start of May. You could tie this in with May Day.
Apple Days
Harvest time is a chance to come together to celebrate your green space, taste the fruit, make fresh juice and do fruity games. For the last 30 years “Apple Days” have happened around the 21st of October. An internet search will show you many ideas from what other groups have done.
Wassail
Wassailing, that age-old tradition of hanging toast, quaffing juice and cider, reciting poems, making a hull-ab-loo in an orchard which can sometimes involve banging pots and pans (or letting off your shotgun if the farmer allows) and of course singing to the trees. Wassailing owes its origins to the spiritual practice of the pagans but as Christianity spread into Europe, wassailing was adopted into what most would recognise as modern-day carolling. But be you of-faith or no-faith you certainly don’t need to be a follower of any particular ‘religion’ to enjoy a good wassail.
Wassailing is often celebrated on 6th January AKA 'Twelfth Night’ or the 17th January – for the ‘purists’ who still follow the Gregorian Calender – referred to to as ‘Old Twelvy Night’ … although we’re always up for a wassail whatever the time of year. So every day can be a wassail day. We even have ‘an emergency wassail box’ at the ready just in case a group wants to ‘sing to the trees’. Whenever you decide to wassail it can be a real highpoint in your orchard calendar. It’s a chance to gather people into the orchard, often at night, lit by fire, torch or candle and celebrate all that you… and your trees… have achieved in the days and months preceding.
Using the fruit
As well as being a beautiful space to enjoy nature within, there should be a growing abundance of fruit to share. Advice on picking, storing, juicing, fermenting and drying can be found here:
Leeds Urban Harvest & Fruitful Bradford
Creating a social space
Over time the orchard will grow into a beautiful space that people will want to enjoy on their own or in small groups. To encourage that you could in some sturdy benches.