I did not know of the existence of public orchards until I read an article in one of the Sunday papers about them a few months ago. Apparently there used to be a great many of them, with the fruit being free to the local community.

There is a drive starting to increase the numbers of these orchards, but they do of course require input from the local community, firstly in finding/buying the land (or saving an existing orchard from development), in getting them planted, and then tending them. But they can be a really nice way of strengthening community ties, with the reward of free fruit for all. Sometimes these schemes work and sometimes they fail, due to no-one taking responsibility for managing them, but it seems worth a shot to me. I would certainly try and help out with one if it was nearby.

Apparently our newest town Milton Keynes, of all places, has the most of them: 130 orchards with over 2,500 fruit trees, thanks to forward thinking planners and community groups. People are allowed to just help themselves when the fruit are ripe.

Would you like to see one of these in your area? Do you have one locally?