West Wycombe Community Orchard
DIARY
Friday 7th July 2023
Tuesday 26th July 2022
Sunday 5th June
As part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebrations the Parsh Council officially introduced residents to the newly created Community Orchard which is behind our Civil Burial Ground in the High Street. We also installed a Platinum Jubilee Commemorative seat in the burial ground.
We wanted to create a quiet space for our residents and by planting 600 wild flower plugsand sowing wild flower seed, planting 10 fruit trees and lots of hedgerow whips we have started our project. Paths have been mown into the field and residents can walk through these or sit on the two rustic benches and just listen to the birds sing.
We invited our residents to use the Community Orchard for the Jubilee picnic, and although the ground was a bit too wet for picnic blankets, residents brought along their garden chairs and met other residents, many of whom were unaware of our burial ground. We provided games and facepainting for 'all ages' and making crowns and a nature trail as well as tea, coffee and cake were available in St Paul's Church.
You can find a selection of photographs in the Community Orchard section of our Gallery.
Monday 9th May 2022
Our Community Orchard is beginning to develop and on May 9th Year 5 from our school made another visit – this time they helped to plant yellow rattle plants and sow wild flower seeds in the crescent shaped bare soil areas created on their first visit. The bank behind each crescent is a beetle bank which will encourage insects. Log seats have also been installed.
For a while the gates at both ends of the orchard will be locked so that the seed beds and plants will have a period of time to get established.
We know there are Tawny Owls living in the wooded area between Church Lane and the Community Orchard so two breeding boxes have been made and will be installed later before the breeding season starts.
Friday 11th March 2022
The Parish Council have started creating our Community Orchard in the field above our Burial Ground.
The Year 5 children and their teachers from West Wycombe School worked with us and volunteers from the Chiltern Rangers by planting apple, pear and plum trees as well as hedge row shrubs, clearing turf ready to sow wild flower seeds, making beetle banks and building 15 bird boxes. 12 of the bird boxes we put up in trees around the perimeter of the burial ground and orchard.
The children will be coming back in May to sow the seeds and plant yellow rattle, we also be installing some rustic seating.