CONSERVATION & ECOLOGY
Planting an orchard
An apple a day? A
With the move towards sustainability, wildlife encouragement and protection and membership enhancement, how many have considered planting an orchard? As Peter Britton discovers, there are many benefits from doing so
s the move towards environmental sustainable course management continues apace, many golf
courses will have, in recent years, undertaken tree planting, the creation of wildlife areas and wildflower meadows et al. But have you ever considered creating an orchard?
The thought of an orchard may fill you with dread, but I am not talking about those vast commercial types that can be found in Somerset (where the cider comes up from), the Vale of Evesham or Kent - other areas are available - but small pockets of fruit bearing trees in and around your land. To qualify as ‘an orchard’ requires a minimum of five trees; there is, obviously, no set maximum. Orchards are in decline across the UK, with the subsequent loss in native species of fruit falling foul to pristine foreign varieties imported by supermarkets. Except perhaps in the most rural of greengrocers where produce is collected locally, spots and blemishes on apples are now a thing of the past, as is, generally, any semblance of taste. “Bland is best” appears to be the new trading ‘standard’.
An orchard can provide so many benefits in and around a golf course, school playing field, training ground or any area that is simply lying dormant.
The orchard ‘habitat’ is unusual, in that it is actually an assortment of several habitats all on the same unit of land. Firstly, there is the tree habitat, which provides the blossom and fruit for food. They also offer the
cracks and crevices where bats and birds live, and the wood which specialist invertebrates feed on. Mistletoe, fungi and lichens all grow in trees, but the interesting thing about an orchard is the trees are spaced so widely there is enough sunlight to allow a grassland habitat to develop as well. This enables all those grassland specialists to live in an orchard too - wildflowers, insects, small rodents and fungi. Add to this the other habitats usually present in and around an orchard - such as hedgerows, ponds and scrub - and you have a habitat of great complexity which will increase the biodiversity found at your facility. Beehives will also add to the diversity in and around an orchard. For a golf club, an orchard will provide additional interest and education for members, a possible income stream once established, along with produce for the clubhouse menu. Consider local cider makers, bakers, greengrocers and such like. Whilst requiring careful nurturing in the early stages, and ongoing maintenance once mature, there are plenty of benefits to be had from an orchard. Similar applies to schools and colleges, where an orchard will also offer additional and considerable educational opportunities frrom day one of the planting scheme. Whilst many people will immediately think of apples, an orchard is, in fact, any planted area of fruit and nut trees - varieties of pear, plum, cherry, walnuts and almonds being the most popular. Planting an orchard is the first step to ensuring the safety of the orchard habitat. Anyone can plant an orchard, or keep fruit trees, it
120 PC June/July 2019
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