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/

As you may know, a group of members have been surveying the wildlife of the orchard over the last two years starting with a wildflower survey in 2021 and 2022. We now have a comprehensive list of over 100 flowering herbaceous plants that flower through the different seasons in the orchard and our aim by the end of this year is to create an orchard wildlife page on the website with photos to aid identification.
We have found that the drought last year had a considerable effect on some of the plants which are not so tolerant of very dry periods so it would be good to see which ones reappear this year.
This is where you could help! Most of us have a wild flower book so if you are interested in contributing to our survey you can download the plant list here, take it on your visit to the orchard with your ID book and then tick the different species that you find in flower. If you keep the list through the year you can hand it in or email it to Jo Malden (orchard@wolvercotetreegroup.org ) or Doug Parr (douglas.parr@gmail.com) at the end of the 2023.

Our AGM will take place on Thursday 2 March 2023 in the Wolvercote Baptist Church Hall at 19:30 hrs. 

Film maker Zuleika Kingdon and producer Jacqui Doughty will tell us about a tree planting project in Uganda ‘The Rwenzori Rainmakers’ which they are documenting. Their story is one of a community tackling the climate crisis by restoring degraded land, creating diverse habitats for trees and animals. and transforming the lives of the local people. The talk and discussion will follow the main AGM business and should last no more than one hour.

The evening will be an engaging opportunity to learn more about the Tree Group, its projects and supported activities, and to socialise with friends and neighbours. We hope you will come along – bring your friends!

As we promised we have now planted the new hedge saplings along the back fence in the Wolvercote Community Orchard, protected with some guards from “repurposed” from under the A34 to hopefully deter the badgers and rabbits who do like to dig! They are getting plenty of water at present but we are keeping watch in case the furry visitors feel particularly mischievous and will need to keep an eye on them in the summer months to ensure they don’t dry out. The plants were chosen by Jo for their ability to attract pollinators and other wildlife.

When you visit the orchard do cast and eye and let us know if you feel anything is untoward.

Our latest tree planting project was to donate six apple saplings of different varieties to Fairclose Farm which were planted on Sunday 9th October 2022. Each tree was planted inside the zigzag fencing giving it some extra protection from the sheep. We will be able to watch these grow as we walk past the orchard.

They are planted in this order (walking away from the yard):
1: Reverend Wilkes
2: Ashmead’s Kernel
3: Blenheim Orange
4: King of the Pippins
5: Egremont Russet
6: Tom Putt

The group gave them a good soaking, and they will make sure they get watered regularly until we start getting some regular rain.

A fun afternoon for all the family to celebrate the humble Apple and Autumn harvest in the Wolvercote Community orchard. Lots of traditional games and crafts, apple tasting and sales of orchard fruit produce.

Reluctantly, we have had to close the Orchard from today (23rd August) to protect the crop for Apple Day in early October. Unfortunately, some of the trees have been stripped, and with the drought reducing the crop size we have decided to close earlier than normal.

Members of the Tree Group are still welcome to enter and take a few apples for their table, but please leave as much as possible as the apples provide the primary income for our group. Please contact one of the committee members for the lock combination.

Wolvercote Tree Group Notice of AGM Thurs 24 February 2022

The Wolvercote Tree Group Committee is calling an AGM for Thursday 24 February – please scroll down to read the formal notice and agenda. The main business will be to receive and approve the report from the Chair and Tree Group accounts (below) for the period 1 January to 31 December 2021, and to discuss plans for 2022. To send your apologies, email  valtate@btinternet.com, call 01865 559316 or write to 2 Cyprus Terrace, Oxford OX2 8AT. Members are reminded that 2022 membership subscriptions – £6.00 each – are due. Thanks to all who have paid already. We are encouraging members to set up a Standing Order to make collection easier for you and the Tree Group. Many banks allow you to set up standing orders by telephone or online. Our bank details are account name: Wolvercote Tree Group; sort code 20-65-18; account number 70413941. When completed, please email the date of the first payment to jon@benjon.co.uk Jon Price (Treasurer) or tel: 07935 033 147. Alternatively, pay electronically using the bank details as above and reference Surname_Subs. Please advise the Treasurer when sent. Or send a cheque, payable to “Wolvercote Tree Group”, to Jon Price, 7 Pennywell Drive, Oxford OX2 8NB.
Many thanks, Val Tate (Secretary)

Litter Picking Every March the Wolvercote Tree Group and the Wolvercote Commoners’ Committee join forces to litter pick as our contribution to the OxClean scheme. We plan to go ahead this year (CV-19 permitting) as in earlier years, meeting in the Bathing Place Car Park on Saturday 19 March at 10:00am. Offers of help to Jo Malden josephine.malden@gmail.com

Notice of AGM

Notice is hereby given that the committee of the above-named community group has determined that an Annual General Meeting of Members will be held on Thursday 24 February 2022 at 7.30pm. The meeting will be in Wolvercote Baptist Church Hall., Lower Wolvercote. Attendees are politely requested to wear a face covering unless addressing the meeting.
The business to be transacted at the meeting is as follows:
* To confirm the minutes of the last general meeting.
* To receive and if so resolved to adopt the report of the Committee for the most recent period.
* To receive and if so resolved to adopt the statement of accounts for the most recent year ended 31 December 2021.
* To elect Committee Members* and Officers**
* To receive and if so resolved to adopt the committee’s plans for 2022 and associated financial projections.
* No re-elections this year. There are three vacancies for Committee Members. Members of The Committee will be elected for a period of three years Their primary responsibility is to ensure that the Tree Group follows its aims as set out in the Constitution. Each Committee Member contributes as much additional help as their personal responsibilities allow. Meetings are held at least four times a year.
** Chair John Winterbottom and Vice-Chair Jo Malden have completed a three-year term and may stand for re-election.
Please communicate suggestions or nominations, along with notification of any other business to the Chair, John Winterbottom, 59 Rosamund Road, OX2 8NX or email: jwinterbottom8@googlemail.com  no later than 12:00 hrs 23 February 2022.

Agenda

* Apologies
* Minutes of the 2021 AGM
* Report from the Chair – see below
* Treasurer’s report – download financial accounts for FY 2021  
* Election of Committee Members
* Election of officers
* Plans for 2022 – download financial forecast for FY 2022
* AOB – date of next committee meeting

Report from the Chair

Dear Members and Friends

A warm welcome to our AGM. Hope you’re keeping safe, well and sane! Well here we are a year on and the pandemic hasn’t abated. There are some encouraging signs though which have meant, in many regards, we can start to work and meet back in the orchard as we used to. This is good for all our spirits. We thank again Jo and Val for the informative newsletters and orchard reports that keep us abreast of seasonal activity in the orchard. Even though there are both busy and quiet periods through the year there is always something that can be done. We would particularly like to thank Anne McHardy who probably visits most weeks and keeps the twig fall under control and produces a bounty of kindling packs.

With the DDA path complete, we had earmarked work to replace the rear boundary fence that sits alongside the track down to the riverside. This was completed last week by Olive Green. It looks fabulous and will serve to deflect the fight path of the bees entering and leaving the hive up to a higher trajectory so that there is little chance of then flying directly into folk who regularly use the path; this has been a concern for some time. We have increased the size of the bee enclosure and anticipate the addition of another couple of hives when Madelaina gets around to it. The remaining intention is to soften the boundary by planting some selected hedging orchard side of the fence. A task for later in the year.

The idea of publishing a calendar celebrating local tress with photographs and poetry came to fruition just before Christmas. Whilst we have a few left, we have made a small profit. It is wonderful work. As is the recipe book, which not only had recipes for hot cakes, but sold like hotcakes. These activities have helped us to swell funds for things such as the new fence.

Another initiative that is ongoing is to get a better understanding of what flora species currently inhabit the orchard alongside our fruit trees. We have a small group of members who have been cataloguing the many species we have so that we might determine what other varieties we might introduce to support both the bees and the trees.

By the time you read this, we will have undertaken the planting of some additional and replacement trees on Nixey’s Field – between the back of Rosamund Road and Elmthorpe Road, and the A34 embankment. We thank Richard Tenant-Eyles for his initiative with this and Charlotte Fenton for opening up her house and garden to allow us to access the field.

Most of the travail of the committee and membership is reported in the regular newsletters we issue. So it remains for me to thank all the committee for their hard work and passion in maintaining the space we know as Wolvercote Community Orchard and in particular Jo Malden and Jon Price, for keeping us on a financial even-keel. And also to you, the members, for getting along to as many of the workdays and events that we plan, as you are able. Should you wish to understand how to get more involved, then please talk to a member of the committee: the pruning still needs doing!

Thank you
John Winterbottom, Chair Wolvercote Tree Group

Here is a winter view of the orchard taken by Marcus Roberts using a drone. It may be possible to map in some detail using the original as it has a resolution accurate to 3cm!