By Anna Seward of Operation Farm

‍

Operation Farm in Tameside has recently launched an exciting initiative to discover and plot the lost fruit trees of Stalybridge.  Since its launch, the people of the town have been plotting the locations of their own fruit trees - or ones they have discovered while out and about in the town and its surrounding countryside  - and sharing their stories about the history of the trees.

‍

We had a really interesting time at our stall at Street Fest on 8th July, too, where we displayed lots of information about fruit trees as well as the Abundance Tameside harvesting project which will support the Lost Trees of Stalybridge initiative as an aspect of developing its legacy.

‍

Passers-by were invited to try samples of alcohol free "mocktails" made with apple juice with lime and mint flavours added: The juice was all from Tameside apples harvested last year from trees around the borough and pasteurised. This was a great talking point and way to strike up conversations - we handed out over 100 mocktails!

‍

‍

There was lots of interest in our display showing some lesser-known apple tree facts and a list of local and heritage apple varieties, with more detailed information about some varieties that are relevant to Tameside and Stalybridge either developed in the area or trees we know or think are in and around the town. We also had our apple presses on hand from small to large for people to see and ask questions about.

‍

We spoke with a range of people from apple tree enthusiasts, people who had fruit trees in their own or a relative’s garden; people who had scrumped and foraged for fruit in the local area at one time or another and one couple who had just planted some fruit trees in pots! We added around a dozen trees to the printed apple map on display, with people adding more information about these to our tree forms, and we gave out many more leaflets to people explaining more about the project and how to add to our online map.

‍

‍

A common theme of conversations seemed to be that people didn’t like to see the waste of fruit, apples in particular, that drop from the trees and go unused every year and there was lots of interest in the Tameside Abundance project and what the apples harvested are used for.

‍

Another talking point was what to do with apples when you have so many at once - there is only so much apple crumble you can make! This has got us thinking more about how there is a need for some easy and interesting recipes to make use of fresh apples in ways we might think of. We were really pleased to make a connection with Chef Adam Reid. who was enthusiastic about the project, and interested in making cider from heritage apple varieties which come from Tameside or were traditionally grown in the local region. We hope we might be able to work more with him in future on some innovative and delicious apple recipes.

‍

We also think there could be a demand for workshops demonstrating ways to process and preserve fresh apples for consumption later - this could be as apple preserves, as pasteurised juice or cider or by drying them at home, bringing back some traditional skills used in the past.

‍

We talked to people about valuing local trees; the beauty of apple trees in blossom, and about how these trees all have individual stories - we heard about one tree that it was said had been planted from a pip and we are keen to find out more about that as this could be a completely new variety of apple! We wonder if we might discover more trees like this over the course of the Lost Trees project.

‍

Our next event will be in September when we’ll be leading a guided walk around some of Stalybridge’s fruit trees to get a closer look at them and uncover more of their histories, harvests, the people who look after them and the places where they are sited and what they bring to these settings. This will take in the Gorse Hall estate, where an old orchard has a few remaining trees, as well as some recently planted ones too.

‍

We’ll also be starting work on interviews for a podcast in the coming weeks which should be ready to share during the apple harvesting season in the autumn. This will focus on how fruit trees can help us connect with our surroundings, the seasons, nature and our local community, and  will be a different way for people to learn more about their town and its trees as we’ll include some interesting details of trees we have uncovered so far in Stalybridge.

‍

Hopefully people will go out and seek these and other trees out, or just notice them in passing and feel that they know something new about where they live,  or arouse their curiosity and interest in local fruit trees and orchard-related news and activities in the local area which could follow on from this project. We hope that the conversations and connections we make in the next few months will bring forth more ideas to take forward!

‍

Looking ahead, we would like to get the message out to more people living in and around Stalybridge to take part in the project by adding trees to the map so we can continue to find and uncover the wonderful range of fruit trees that are all around the town. The map is currently on display in the Civic Hall downstairs, and we also have an online map here for people to add to, which is accessible via our Lost Trees project webpage:  https://operationfarm.org.uk/lost-trees/

‍

Anna

‍