Natural England - Traditional Orchards in England

Thursday 5 May saw the publication of a huge report by Natural England and the People’s Trust for Endangered Species into the state of England’s traditional orchards. This lengthy undertaking has identified over 35,000 individual orchards, covering nearly 17,000 hectares, and has assessed their condition.


Somerset, with 2741 orchards identified covering some 1687 hectares comes second only to Herefordshire, with 3360 orchards covering 2481 hectares. But whereas 14% of Herefordshire’s orchards are assessed as in ‘poor’ condition, here in Somerset the figure rises to 61%, which is absolutely shocking.


A traditional orchard is a man-made thing - we choose the varieties, we plant the trees in straight lines, we graze it with livestock, we hedge it around to keep the stock in, and we harvest and make use of the fruit. Here in Somerset that means not just our five-a-day, it means our cider and our apple juice, a growing, wealth-providing local industry.


Apple trees are early senescing hardwoods. After about 80 years they are at the end of their lives, but prior to that they are a wonderful habitat for wildlife, and at the end of that time they become even richer, providing homes and food for insects and birds.


However we must also remember that we need to produce food, and that there is only 3% of the world’s surface that can be used to grow it. As our population grows we have to consider how we are going to meet that need. Our orchards can improve biodiversity at the same time as increasing food production.


People tend to look at neglected trees and see them as beyond recovery. But we can take an orchard, with careful management, from a state of complete neglect to a place where it is not only breaking even but is commercially profitable due to the growth of artisan cider and apple juice makers in Somerset.


This process of orchard restoration is not only beneficial to the longevity of the orchard, it also improves the wildlife habitat. Now we have been made fully aware of the scale of the problem with our orchards urgent action is required.


We can make a big difference but the project has to be led by commercial need and the appetite of the public for artisan produced premium cider and apple juice from our traditional orchards. There is the opportunity to do it and a definite market for the product. For the project to have meaning and sustainability there needs to be regular care. Apple sales, which finance restoration and secure future management, are the key.


Orchards can have ten times the biodiversity of a grass field, ten times! They are man-made things that we actually got right for a change! Let’s give life back to them and make them part of our economy and our landscape, and our future, not just our past.