Take a walk on the wild side
We’ve gathered some ideas from our popular Certificate in Community Orcharding Course to help get you started on making your garden or orchard more ‘wild’ and encourage more beneficial pollinators…
Blog
Manifesting the medicinal orchard
Orchards have always served communities as an integrated resource of produce. Mycorrhizal fungi networks increase a tree’s capacity to defend against harmful diseases and companion planting increases the likelihood…
We are all apples
As a bit of a forest gardening eager beaver, I’ve been reading some back issues of Agroforestry News. One article from 2015 caught my eye: ‘Tackling green xenophobia’. It’s also…
Pruning with prisoners
“The lads thought chives only came in Pringles crisps!” says John, as we share a hearty lunch of curried lentil soup, chips and cheese rolls, – the same food the…
An orchestra in an orchard
Our Edinburgh Project Manager, Chris, opens his ears to the sounds of the orchard in winter. He also considers ideas for community events that will tap into these aural pleasures.…
To bee or not to bee..
by Stephanie Irvine, one of our London Project Managers. We need to talk about honey bees! Many urban community orchards want to keep bee hives, and you can understand why.…
Diary of a CICO student
Our Certificate in Community Orcharding (CICO) is the UK’s first and only accredited course in community orchards. One of our committed students, Tamasin, has kindly shared her CICO journey with…
Orchards against climate change: Nature-based Solutions
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) can play an important role in tackling the climate crisis. It is currently something of a buzzword among environmentalists in fact. In this blog, we unpack how…
How to set up a charity: in conversation with our co-founder
Carina Millstone is a Co-Founder of The Orchard Project (TOP) and is now an Ambassador. She is a permaculturalist, who first noticed the opportunity for more orchards within London’s environmental…