Recent Activities

Below are some of the things which we and the local community have done since we started:

• Commissioning 'Crailing Community Orchard' sculpture and sign
• Making 'hay' for for mulching trees, and the bins for composting it in
• Holding a Crailing Community Orchard 'Apple Day' celebration
• A stall at the Harestanes 'Apple Day', and getting our fruit identified
• Learning how to prune apple, plum and damson trees, and how to coose the best new trees for diversity and the Borders climate
• Fruit picking for processing into jams, chutneys, juices and ciders - much of which get sampled during breaks!
• A wild flower and wildlife survey
• Attending a bee-keeping course to learn how these wonderful creatures can help pollination and provide ODG and its members with honey and other bee products. Future volunteers will have the opportunity to learn about bees - a vital part of our ecology.
• A Borders Forest Trust traditional hedge-laying course, restoring an old plum hedge and planting a new crab apple hedge
• Getting to know the local farmer, Hugh Fraser; we hope his sheep will help us manage the sward (grassland)
• Building new gates and fences to improve access and protect new hedges and trees from grazing
• Many barbecues and picnics!

Needless to say, there's still lots more to do, some definitely planned and some just at the 'ideas' stage.