Colwall Orchard Project

Last Autumn, local volunteers  launched a project to rediscover the orchards of Colwall Parish, as a first step to bringing them back into fruitful management. Local volunteers met at the Downs School and  Helen Stace, formerly a Conservation Officer with English Nature, introduced volunteers to  key aspects of orchard conservation. 



Conservationists survey The Downs Orchard

Working from old maps, aerial photographs and with the help of local orchard owners, the group hope to track down and assess the remaining orchards in Colwall and go on to organise tree rescue days - training orchard owners and volunteers in tree planting, pruning and aftercare to restore dilapidated orchards.  the group hope to attract funding to help local owners manage their orchard and also to use the restored orchards for community events and celebrations including fruit juicing, apple identification and blossom and wildlife walks.

Restoration of The Downs School Orchard



The Downs School Orchard

The Downs School has already offered its orchard for such community events, and will incorporate apple picking and processing into their rich curriculum of school activities. We hope to work closely with the School in the future to restore and manage the orchard,  introduce the pupils to the orchard wildlife and help them pick, juice and enjoy their orchard fruit.

National survey

Colwall Orchard Project is working closely with the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, which is carrying out a national survey for a rare beetle, the noble chafer, focusing on the main orcharding counties  in England. 
The noble chafer is lives in very old fruit trees and has been dying out as the old traditional orchards are lost.  Although it is large and bright iridescent green, it is only emerges and lives as an adult for a few weeks each year. 

Volunteers required

We want to help local people in the Parish to manage orchards.  We will be contacting owners over the next few weeks, but anyone with an orchard in Colwall Parish who would like to help can contact the orchard project via  Helen Stace on 01684 540569.We would also welcome more volunteers for wildlife surveys, orchard management and later on, running orchard events. Anyone interested should also contact Helen as above.  We would particularly appreciate some younger volunteers to give us a different perspective! (this might suit anyone thinking of a future career in conservation).

The Downs School Show Garden
'Pride of place' at the RHS Malvern Spring Garden Show and Gold Medal winner.

By way of celebrating The Downs School, Mark Eveleigh our school groundsman planned and submitted a garden design to the RHS Malvern Spring Gardening Show.
This plan was approved by the RHS and accepted as one to go forward to the Chris Beardshaw mentoring scheme. The design was awarded the maximum grant from the Malvern Spring Show and a RSH Gold Medal.















Mark Eveleigh, Gold Medal winning designer
and our school groundsman.

Railway inspired

Mark took inspiration from the surroundings here at school with the railway playing a major role. The garden had a nostalgic feel, evocative of all that we celebrate at The Downs.



The Downs Light Railway 1920s

Reclamation from the school's redevelopment

Mark salvaged timber and materials from the demolition of the old gym, and  used these reclaimed items to construct the railway building in the garden.











Built from materials reclaimed from school

Pupils involvement

The children were given opportunities to be involved in the creation of the garden. In pottery hobby they made clay tiles to form a path, the gardening hobby members encouraged young seedlings in the greenhouses and the old delivery bike was restored during another Saturday morning hobby.

























Sponsorship

St.Peters Garden Centre kindly agreed to sponsor the plants in the garden.  Other sponsors included Speller Metcalfe, Squires and Brown and Palmer and Howles each of whome are having a huge input into the school's current redevelopment. Washford Engineering company supported the inclusion of the Downs Light Railway. The Downs Garden was one of the centre pieces for the exhibition and provided the opening and closing shots for BBC's Gardener's World.











Joe Swift from BBC's Gardeners' World enjoys The Downs Light Railway

Thank you

Mark Eveleigh  and The Downs School would like to thank to all those who became involved in the production of this wonderful creation. We are all grateful to have had the opportunity to create this garden and promote the uniqueness of this very special school. For more photos click here...

Gardening Hobby

As always, the year has been full of interest, with activities chosen to fit around the seasons and unpredictable weather. During the autumn term we enjoyed our bright displays of late flowers, and had a bumper harvest of ornamental and butternut squash and the colourful and very low maintenance Swiss chard has been cropped at intervals over the year, with hard-working gardeners taking away generous armfuls to cook at home. 



Harvesting chard

Our trip to Picton Nursery’s aster collection was particularly special during their centenary celebrations. Fine weather ensured that the banks of vivid ‘daisies’ were spectacular, and even the most unlikely of the children were inspired to do colourful sketches for a display in the Boys Hall.



Art inspired by Pictons Nursery

Along with the impressive flower gardens in the old plots (that Old Downians love to visit and recall their efforts decades ago) we grow a wide range of vegetables, and enjoy sharing out the harvest for school lunch, or to take home. Plant and produce sales help fund the purchase of seeds, seed-compost (organic, of course!), and occasional tools. We are always delighted to welcome volunteer parents during Gardening Hobby, as a dozen enthusiastic children deserve lots of support! Children also come in their free time during the school week to work on their plots and water the vegetables. A regular newsletter helps to keep in touch with the gardeners who are not in the Hobby group.

The gardening bug is spreading through the school community. Kindergarten’ gardening has expanded from the established beds into a range of containers including a cheerful row of wellies sprouting colourful flowers. The Junior School has set up an after-school gardening club on land next to their playground. Several on-site staff members now have impressive flower and vegetable gardens.




 
The Downs, Malvern College Prep, Brockhill Road, Colwall
MALVERN Worcestershire WR13 6EY
Tel: 01684 540277 Fax: 01684 540094
Created and maintained by WSI