Nature Features

When David Squirrel moved into his thatched cottage in Symondsbury near Bridport in 1998 he offered to clear a field which had been overtaken by brambles behind his back garden.

David Squirrel's orchard at Symondsbury

After hours of hard toil, hacking back the thick thorns, he uncovered a number of rather poorly apple trees. Having an interest in fruit trees he pruned them back to life and planted new trees.

Local varieties

Research shows the orchard he uncovered dates back to 1847 and to keep with historic traditions David made a point of planting old varieties which are unavailable in the shops. He's also selected many local varieties such as Melcombe Russet, a Dorset eating apple, Yarlington Mill from Somerset and Warrior, a versatile cooking apple also from Dorset.

He said, "Local distinctiveness is very important. The way the world is going, everything is getting standardised and it's very important to keep these lesser known varieties going."

Granfer's apple

He's also planted a cutting from a tree which has yet to be identified. This came from Diana Toms in Beaminster who asked him for help in identifying an apple tree which had been in her garden for generations. He couldn't help nor could experts at the National Fruit Collection and as yet this variety is unnamed.

In the meantime Diana has named it "Granfer's apple" after her great grandfather and David is now cultivating a good crop of Granfer's apple so the variety can live on.

Apple projects

David's apple knowledge led him to set up a whole range of projects including the Treewise Cooperative which promotes the care and cultivation of fruit trees through education.

Under the cooperative's banner the orchard is now used as a "teaching orchard" where David runs courses for people to learn how to prune the trees and create their own fruit collections.

He's also run "fruit swap" events where gardeners exchange their produce and set up a children's orchard, where children can enjoy the outdoor space and learn about nature.

David Squirrel making apple juice

He's also been asked for help in setting up community orchards around Dorset in Shaftesbury, Broad Oak near Stuminster Newton and Shillingstone which led him to thinking that his home town of Bridport should have one too.

So his latest project is that - to create Bridport's first ever community orchard. it will be planted in January 2009 on a patch of land behind St Mary's Church so that the art of orchard care and cultivation can be carried on for years to come.