making a difference.
ONE VISION, 11 YEARS, 540 ORCHARDS
Imagine if everyone lived in walking distance of fresh apples, pears and plums to pick. That, along with a reinvigoration of the UK’s orchard heritage, is the inspiring goal of visionary charity The Orchard Project - and it’s having a remarkable effect on volunteers’ wellbeing
WORDS: LAURA DAY.
PHOTOGRAPHS: THE ORCHARD PROJECT, HOLLY PICKERING, TOM BROADHEAD
In 2009, sustainable food advocate Carina Millstone envisaged a London blooming with fruit trees. Inspired by the legacy of the plane trees, planted en masse in the city by the Victorians, Carina believed fruit trees could have the same longlasting impact for people living in urban areas. With entrepreneur Rowena Ganguli, Carina founded The London Orchard Project to help the city’s communities create orchards, preserve heritage skills and celebrate home-grown fruit.