Apple Day
This has become a special date in our village calendar. Seeing the delight, curiosity and buzz of so many people, families, and friends chatting and enjoying all the activities and produce on offer makes the weeks of preparation worthwhile. It was another joyous day with around 580 visitors, so including all our wonderful volunteers, that would be over 600 people! Amazing to think our little orchard can cope with so many but it does and gives so much. The photo shows our Chair, John Winterbottom handing over the annual rent to Oxford Preservation Trust’s Louise Lockyer.
Thank you and well done to all our volunteers and supporters of the day! We are always aiming to improve the experience for all so if you have any helpful feedback we would welcome your thoughts.
After Apple Day there was still fruit on the trees. We took apples and quince to the local Food Hub in the White Hart Community pub through the rest of October, collecting the remaining fallers for a final juicing to boost stocks for the Yuletide Fayre (see below).
Tree felling in Baynham’s Meadow
In our July newsletter, we shared the news that many hybrid poplars, growing along the west bank of the Wolvercote Mill Stream in Baynham’s Meadow, had been felled. In late August, Tree Group committee members Jo, John and Val met Celia Meacham (University of Oxford Rural Estates Manager) and Nigel Fisher (Wytham Woods Conservator) with representatives of the Neighbourhood Forum and Commoners to share how the scale and speed of work, without prior notice, had concerned the community.
The meadows have SSSI status, awarded by Natural England, which attracts funding for their management and preservation. The poplars, approaching the end of their natural lives, had grown so tall that they were impacting the diversity of meadow plants (see the brighter green grass monoculture closer to the tree line in the photo). We saw that the loss of trees – less than the 90 predicted – hadn’t made a noticeable difference in the view towards the Mill site.
The work had to be done in a very narrow timeframe, between hay cutting and animal grazing, and when the ground was relatively dry, to avoid further damage to the surrounding ecosystems. Celia acknowledged that more could have been done to communicate what was happening and why. Due to the fragility of the site, it can’t be openly accessible. However, Nigel agreed to lead tours of the site, probably in June/July next year. We’ll let you know when more information becomes available.
Community Market Yuletide Fayre
Sunday 3 December 10:00 – 14:00
The Tree Group will have a stall at the Community Market seasonal fair selling apple juice and honey plus other homemade produce that we may have time to make! There will be plenty of stalls, music and dancing along with seasonal cheer so do come along.
Annual General Meeting – Thurs 29 February, Wolvercote Baptist Church Hall 19:30
Please put this date in your diary. We are hoping once again to combine this meeting with a talk. If you’re interested in joining the committee, contact John Winterbottom. Further details will be circulated in the New Year.
Orchard critters
We leave you with a little visual treat from some of the nocturnal visitors of the Community Orchard – https://wolvercotetreegroup.org/2023/10/23/orchard-wildlife-videos/