Our Story – Mud, Sweat and Volunteers!
In early 2011 we applied for and were awarded a Community Green Space Challenge grant from Grantscape, with Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council offering us two unused and previously inaccessible fields for rent in the heart of the village.
Work started on the ground in October 2014 and had to be completed in line with the grant terms by December 2014, condensing the proposed 18-month project set-up into three very intense months, in the cold, bleak, muddy winter! Against the elements and with the help of many awesome volunteers, the site was prepared and planted on time, with finishing touches spilling into the new year. We celebrated our opening day in June 2015 and our first Apple Day the following October.
In the intervening years, the orchard has continued to thrive. We have planted over 80 fruit and nut trees of all types and a willow bed and have created wildflower meadows throughout. As well as the orchard trees, we also manage the area for wildlife as it includes a Local Wildlife Site all of which we look after with the help of volunteers. We hold regular events and workshops bringing the community together.
We can’t wait to develop the project more, serving the community and providing an educational focus for all. If you would like to get in touch to chat about the project or come and visit, please contact us.
About Us
Directors of Northaw Transition CIC
Kaz
Kaz has lived in the parish since childhood and is dedicated to the protection of nature and wild spaces so jumped at the chance to develop a community orchard with others in the village when the opportunity came up. She has been a clinical herbalist for over 20 years and runs a Social Enterprise focused on educating and connecting people with their local medicinal herbs.
For more info about her work see www.seedsistas.co.uk
Jane
Jane’s expertise is in horticulture and plant science, which she has taught for over 25 years. She is also passionate about orchards and conservation. The community orchard has been a fantastic opportunity to combine her two interests and spread the word about plants, wildlife and sustainable living to our community and beyond.
Angie
Angie has been involved with the orchard from the start and has been amazed to watch it grow and thrive over the years. It continues to become increasingly sustainable as the fruit, nut trees and new hedges mature and produce food for people and wildlife alike and the wildflowers reseed each year providing food and habitat for insects and more. The orchard is firmly embedded in our community where it is enjoyed and nurtured as a delightful local space.
Michelle
Sustainable living is very important to Michelle. She enjoys working in the orchard, tending her garden and practising yoga and she plans to do a beekeeping course when she has time. She loves hunting in charity shops… and thinks she watched too much Bagpuss when she was younger!
Roger
Roger has lived in Northaw for 37 years and together with his late wife Isabel and daughter Pippa. he has supported the Orchard from its inception. He enjoys sailing, walking, music, travelling and playing drums with various jazz and blues bands. He also supports Chickenshed Theatre. As a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology he is honoured to have been elected as a Director of Northaw Transition CIC
What people say…..
‘We are local Northaw residents and we are delighted that the Community Orchard continues to develop and offer interesting and instructive events. Utilising otherwise neglected land to grow fruit trees offers our local community a very welcome resource which can also give educational opportunities to local schools and other groups.
It is so good to see such healthy, well cared for trees and wild flowers all of which will also benefit the bees, butterflies and other insects that are in decline. We will very happily continue to support this excellent initiative.’
and ….
‘Thanks to the hard work of community volunteers we are witnessing an area of unloved bramble-scrub gradually evolving into something of an oasis on our doorstep. It is becoming a site with a future, literally a project that will bear fruit and provide something for everyone. While we tend to enjoy the tranquility of just sitting in the orchard throughout milder months, we’ve had to smile when that peace is shattered for the best of reasons, the excited voices of inquisitive schoolchildren learning in the ‘outdoor classroom’…even the rain couldn’t dampen their enthusiasm.’
CultureWood Family Forest School
We are pleased to host CultureWood Forest School for children aged 3 – 11yrs with their parents and guardians. Check dates on our Events page. Contact Tanya at culturewood@gmail.com to book
Natural Beekeeping in Top Bar Hives
Our Orchard Mermaid
Northaw Transition CIC
