Bowling Park Community Orchard

bee on Keswick Codling Blossom: Bees are essential for the pollination of the fruit, so we amange the orchard to attract them.bee on Keswick Codling Blossom:
Bees are essential for the pollination of the fruit, so we manage the orchard to attract them.

BPCOrchard Harvesting Record 2011

BEES has been involved in developing Community Orchards at Bowling Park Allotments, Redcliffe (keighley) and in many school grounds.

Why?
We see them as a place to grow fruit, develop wildlife habitats and create sociable urban green space.

Orchard cultivation nationally has declined by 57% since 1950. Community Orchards offer the opportunity to counteract this decline whilst learning and sharing fruit growing skills and growing varieties that are distinctive of our locality and that we cannot readily buy elsewhere. They offer space for wildlife and for the community to celebrate and enjoy the harvest and heritage surrounding fruit growing and its use.

Bowling Park Community Orchard
The orchard is developed on six disused allotment plots adjacent to Bowling Park.

In March 2003 we planted over 40 trees including

  • 35 varieties of apple,
  • 6 pears and
  • 4 plums.

The orchard is managed by BEES conservation volunteers and we have established the Friends of Bowling Park Community Orchard who we hope will take responbsibility for the orchard into the future. New members are welcome - please contact BEES if you wish to find out more.

More...
Directions and travel advice to find the orchard.
History
Friends of Bowling Park
Apple Resources
Photo Gallery

External Links
Common Ground
The orchard in 2005 2 1 2 appple day 2006

 

AttachmentSize
BPCO Harvesting Record.xls26.5 KB

Location

Javascript is required to view this map.

Task List - Bowling Park Community Orchard

THURSDAY 23rd Feb 2012: Bowling Park Community Orchard, Allotments at Bowling Park Drive.

A return to the Orchard to continue construction of the new compost bins by collecting old ones from Trinity Road and complete the pruning.

Sunday 9th Oct 2011: APPLE DAY Bowling Park Community Orchard in allotments Bowling Park Drive, BD5

Many people braved the rain to enjoy Apple DayMany people braved the rain to enjoy Apple DayApple Day 2011 was another successful event. Despite the inclement weather - rain most of the afternoon with gusts of strong wind that were a challenge for the gazebos - the event was busy with initial estimates of around 400 visitors.

Horticultural questions ranged from 'how do I plant my apple tree?', 'Can you help me choose which to buy - an Egremont Russet or a Blenheim Orange?' (BO chosen as it will give a longer harvesting season when taking into account the other trees on the plot), to 'I've moved into a house and cut down an old apple tree, is this alright?' (I'm not sure what answer was given!). Martin was also able to help us with a few issues we have in the orchard, from a badly diseased Fiesta (and Lane's Prince Albert) to overcrowded trees that need restrictive pruning. The guidance Martin has provided will be added to the management plan for the orchard for the forthcoming year.

A banner for the orchard was made as part of the art activities, along with badges and purses using old bottle tops, apple wood and juice cartons. The more foolhardy had a go at apple bobbing, as if they weren't wet enough already. The longest peel produced an extraordinary result - 3.8m (I think). Whilst the apple used was admittedly large it was the technique that impressed - a knife was used to score the apple before peeling. The 'peeler' was from Oregon, USA. We are obviously being taught the wrong things in school.

Plenty of cakes, salads and hot savoury meals were consumed and diners were entertained by local band The 309's. Fresh juice was pressed from apples donated by Bradford Fruitshare, and about 20 varieties of apple were on sale. Unfortunately Yorkshire Orchards suffered frost this year so had no apples, however we purchased fruit from Park Fruit Farm in Essex who have consistently high quality fruit which is produced in an wildlife friendly orchard.

Many thanks to the volunteers who helped on the day - without whom we could not run the event - and who worked hard in advance to make chutney, jam and food for the cafe.

 See more photos here

Friday 7th Oct 2011: Bowling Park Community Orchard

http://www.bees-ymca.org.uk/image/tid/163 class="inline inline-right">Picking the apples with our new long handled picker and harvesting bag Picking the apples with our new long handled picker and harvesting bag Today BEES volunteers were joined by a group from Santander Bank to undertake a variety of tasks ensuring autumn management tasks were completed and the site was prepared for visitors to Apple Day on Sunday.

We follow organic guidelines for top fruit cultivation so throughout the summer we leave the majority of the grass long to ensure there is adequate habitat for the invertebrate predators that control the aphids and other pests. At this time of the year the grass undergoes an autumn cut and the arisings are raked and added to the compost. We aim to leave about 10% of the undergrowth as a winter refuge for the invertebrates.

The trees were given a bit of food to boost the fruit bud development. Calcified seaweed, fine charcoal (which aids uptake of nutrients from the soil) and a mulch from the bottom of the compost bins was spread around the trees. More work was done to organise the compost bins. Pathways, flower beds and veg beds were weeded and the hedges were cut.

We harvested and weighed more of the apples, only a few are left on the trees now and these will be picked next week.

See more photos here

Friday 26th Aug 2011: Bowling Park Community Orchard, allotments off Bowling Park Drive, West Bowling

A group of 11 volunteers visited the orchard today to continue with the site management tasks. First the group were introduced to the orchard and people new to the project were given a tour round. A good number of the trees were found to of produced an abundance of fruit and the first job was to collect the fallers and pick any that were ready. We soon found that the apples will require a little longer to fully ripen. Others jobs included weeding the vegetable growing beds, mowing some areas of grass, clearing around the compost bins and weeding the paths. Although we had to run for shelter due to the rain by the end of the day the site was looking in good shape as we prepare for the harvest which should produce a good crop this year.

Click here to see other pictures of the day.

Friday 6th May 2011, BLOSSOM DAY, BPCO, Allotments Bowling Park Drive, West Bowling, BD4

Blossom on espalier treeBlossom on espalier treeToday we held our annual open day at the Orchard to celebrate the spectacle of the tree blossom. Unfortunately due to the weather conditions most of the blossom had finished. However we were able to enjoy the occassion and carried out several management tasks including cutting the grass and cleaning the shed. A school group planted seeds, carried out a craft activitiy and looked for minbeasts. A college group toured the orchard and planted vegetables while several other visitors enjoyed the site. With so many people on site it made a good atmosphere and they showed enthusiam for the project and celebrating local food growing.

Click here to see other photos of the day.

Today we worked with 14 volunteers.

Friday 14th January: Bowling Park Community Orchard, Allotments Bowling Park Drive, West Bowling, BD4

Friday 14th January 2011: Completed section of hedgeFriday 14th January 2011
Completed section of hedge Today was the first visit of the year to the Orchard site. We had two tasks today.

One group carried out the pruning of the fruit trees and gave the trees some extra food. This is an important job to be carried out in the winter and will benefit the fruit production later in the season.

The other group laid the hedge at the top end of the site. There was a mixture of species of trees including Alder, Elder, Hazel and Hawthorn these provide a food source for the birds that visit the site and the laying will provide extra light to this area of the site.

Both of these activities involve a great deal of skill and practise. At the end of the day we had achieved what we set out to do and were pleased with the results.

Today we worked with 17 volunteers.

Click here to see other photos of the day.

Sunday 10th October: APPLE DAY 2010 Bowling Park Community Orchard in allotments Bowling Park Drive

view of the siteview of the siteToday was the 10th Apple Day to be held in Bradford. This is the annual celebration of our apple and fruit heritage. We were blessed with glorious autumn sunshine which help to attract over 700 people. The site was transformed with marquees put up where various activities took place. There was a lovely atmosphere during the day and the visitors really enjoyed the range of activities that were on offer and the way the space looked. Volunteers helped with the setting up of the site, running of the activities and packing up at the end of the event. We are very grateful for all the help that we received. 

Click here to see other photos of the day. 

Friday 8th October: Bowling Park Community Orchard, Allotments at Bowling Park Drive, West Bowling

tidying the compost areatidying the compost areaToday was our chance to make the final site preperations before Apple Day 2010. A good turn out meant that we were able to concentrate on the areas that we needed to. So the growing beds were weeded and tidied, the compost bins were turned, the grass cut, hedges tidied, paths weeded and wildflower areas weeded. Looking at the site at the end of all this work it certainly looked ready for an open day. Plus the return of Raquel boosted moral for the day.

Click here for more photos of the day.

Today we worked with 19 volunteers.

Friday 2nd July 2010: Bowling Park Community Orchard and BEES Urban Nature Reserve

Friend's of notice boardsFriend's of notice boardsWe had aimed to visit both the Orchard and UNR today but there was really too much to do at the orchard to abandon it half way through. the day.

The grass is long and flowering throughout. Whilst this is intentional to allow habitat for invertebtates we chose to mow pathways through the grass to show intent and encourage peole to look around. The pathways and seating areas needed a little attention, but not as much as the veg beds. These were weeded and sweetcorn, pumpkins and tomatoes were planted.

The smart new display boards were mounted on the fence and now display information about our management approach and publicity for Apple Day. Sadly the new raspberries have not done very well, for no clear reason.

Staff carried out basic management of the UNR a couple of days later. I am pleased to report that there was very little evidence of Giant Hogweed with only a few small plants found in the woodland area. Fingers crossed.

User Forum After the task we gathered at the YMCA. Our first discussion was to gather ideas for a funding application for a future Community Wildlife project. Some interesting suggestions were made around more practical work and linking it to natural history education at sites, including work with families.

Then we discussed ideas for BEES 25th Anniversary celebration in September. We looked trhough old task programmes dating back to 1990 to identify which sites we would like to revisit. This wasn't a straightforward task as not all of the places were known to those present so it was hard to make an informed decision. However we came up with a 'long list' which will be used to plan a tour on 17th September, and maybe other dates through the year. We also decided to have a party in the evening, back at the YMCA. Expect your invite soon.

Friday 7th May 2010: BLOSSOM DAY 2010, Bowling Park Community Orchard, Bowling Park Dr, BD5

Visitors enjoying the dayVisitors enjoying the dayToday we ran one of our open days at the Orchard. A number of activities were planned and organised. We were please to welcome all sorts of people to the site including, YMCA staff, communitiy groups, school pupils, individuals and our volunteers. Art activities, minibeast hunts, habitat homes prepared and site tours were arranged for visitors. The volunteers were kept busy creating a minibeast habitat from old pallets, weeded the dogwood area and prepared one of the growing areas. Although the blossom on the apple trees was later than previous years, there was a pleasant atmosphere and the site looked very well cared for.   

Click here for other photos of Blossom Day including another special cake.

Today we worked with 15 volunteers.

more