When our group formed in 2021 and started the 'Great Berry Open Space Improvements' initiative , we wanted to do our bit for the planet by planting new trees, and also start it a project that would improve our park. We decided to plant a number of fruit trees that will add colour to the area from the flowering blossom, and create a community orchard that will provide food for local wildlife and future generations to enjoy and benefit from.

We started off with 6 young fruit trees and planted them by the existing apple tree that we had already worked on to give it a new lease of life. Soon after our first trees were planted, a number of additional fruit trees were donated by our members. Our orchard now has 14 trees, and we have spent the past 18 months caring for them, watering them during the drier months, and protecting them from wind and storm damage during the winter months. This has been one of our most popular projects so far, over 30 members of our group have helped planting at various times. Our youngest member at 2 years old helped to plant the plum tree, and our youngest active member Clara planted a number of the trees with her friends, inspiring the next generation. And two of our founding members have grown trees from saplings and donated them to our project.

Having been able to overcome the challenges from mother nature it has now become apparent that sadly it is human destruction that we need to overcome. We have been overwhelmed by the support of our local community to date, it has been amazing to see all the positive comments about the improvement works our group has started. However we can not control everyone, and sadly some people are not willing to allow others to appreciate natural beauty and enjoy their local surroundings. Nor do they think about the future of our planet. As a result some of our trees have been targeted and damaged.

We do not want to give up, and lose sight of what we set out to do when we started this protect., so will continue to nurture and protect our trees, to help them thrive. We will be introducing some new tree guards that will help give the trees time to mature and hopefully overcome mindless stupidity and pointless destruction that we have seen recently.

Thank you for reading our story.

If you would like to learn more or volunteer, our group meet twice a month on the 2nd Saturday and 4th Sunday at 10am by The Pavilion (Great Berry Residents Club) at 10am.