Food Champions Project

An innovative horticultural based project which started in September 2012, in Wiltshire and Swindon, the funding runs until March 2014, with three main elements:

1.Setting up community Growing Sites

2.Establishing or regenerating Community Orchards

3.Forming a Local Food Network

Funded through the Big Lottery Fund’s Local Food Scheme, with match funding secured via:

•Housing Associations•The Big Tree Plant•NHS Wiltshire •Wiltshire Wildlife Trust Winter Appeal 2011-12

Growing Sites – 12 Sites to be established

• Bradford on Avon with Selwood Housing • Chippenham with the Green Square Group • Chippenham with the ‘Nature of it’ • Devizes with the Aster Group • Lugershall with Castle School • North Wiltshire Women’s Refuge with the Green Square Group • Potterne with the Aster Group • Salisbury in partnership with the Aster Group and Old Sarum School • Swindon with Raglan Housing • Swindon at Underwood House with Swindon Borough Council • Tisbury • Tidworth with Ordinance House

We’ve actually set up 14;

Swindon with Sovereign Housing & Chippenham with The Rise Trust

Community Orchards

The food champions project will facilitate the restoration and/or creation of 20 community orchards throughout Wiltshire & Swindon.

Each group is able to request up to 15 trees to regenerate or start their orchard, some will be Wiltshire varieties (the others will be South West varieties): •Bedwyn Beauty (C/E)•Burns Seedling (E)•Celt (E)•Chorister Boy (E)•Corsley Pippin (E)•Dredge’s Fame (E)•Julia’s Late Golden (E)•Mary Barnett (C/E)•Roundway Magnum Bonum (E) •Wiltshire Monster (?)

Community Orchards – Set up 20 sites

• Avebury• Bradford on Avon • Calne• Chippenham (multiple sites)• Nr Cricklade• Devizes (multiple sites)• Durrington• Easton Royal• Melksham • Marlborough (multiple sites)• Pewsey (multiple sites)

• Ramsbury (multiple sites)• Rowde• Lower Bemerton, Salisbury • Salisbury (multiple sites)• Nr Somerford Keynes • Swindon (multiple sites) • Trowbridge (multiple sites)• Warminster• Wroughton (multiple sites)• Wylye

The list is constantly being updated detailing the community groups we are working with as of Friday apple trees have been distributed to groups 36, orchards can be found in the following towns/villages:

Community Orchards – Training

Originally the project was tasked with delivering two training session for community orchards

With the kind assistance of Self Unlimited, Rowde we have scheduled a total of 14 training sessions up until March 2014, these include:

•Winter Pruning•Summer Pruning/June Drop•Tree Planting •Grafting

We’ve also run visits to Orchard Pig in Somerset.

In June we visited Barters Nursery to see 684 apple trees (SW & Wilts varieties) we’ve had grafted.

Community Orchards – Planting

Last Saturday we had our ‘Big Tree Giveaway’ in conjunction with Barters Nursery in Chapmanslade

Groups will received trees that where requested, along with stakes, ties, guards and an advice toolkit

We also have a number of whips (hazel, wild cherry, crab apple & hawthorn) which again groups can request (not just community orchards)

Details of planting days and other orchard events are publicised through our e-newsletter & WWT Facebook page

Two training courses remain, but other groups – Trowbridge, Lower Shaw Farm & Stanton Wood Swindon, are running their own training courses (open to the public). As is Wiltshire College, Lackham

Follow the project on Twitter @WSFoodChampions

Via the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s Facebook page Wiltswildlife

Or

Sara Cundy – sarac@wiltshirewildlife.org

Gary Lamont – garyl@wiltshirewildlife.org

Or 01380 725670

Any Questions?