Winter tasks

Let us start with wishing you a very happy and healthy 2023. Hanwell and Norwood Green Orchard Trail Volunteers will continue with what they’ve done for the last 8 years; maintaining a trail of orchards along the Grand Union Canal to help make Hanwell a great place to walk and enjoy the outdoors.

Mulching

On a sunny and cold day last December, our group of dedicated volunteers came together to help care for some of our orchards along the canal. Armed with wheelbarrows full of woodchip donated to us by Ealing Park Rangers, they set out to mulch around the trees in St. Margaret’s Orchard, Bernd’s Orchard and The Piggeries. The woodchip will help retain moisture during dry periods and suppress weeds, also feeding the trees to create the best possible environment to grow strong and healthy.

Volunteers

Our orchards are a living testament to the impact that a group of dedicated individuals can have on their community. And you can be part of that …

We can always use more help to maintain our orchards and start new environmental projects. So if you want to know more…, just register as a volunteer on this website and receive updates of what we do and how you can help. Our planting day would be a great starting point to get introduced to Orchard life.

Planting Day 14th January 2023

This year, we will be planting some trees in Blackberry Corner, to replace the trees that got damaged during the fire last summer. If the weather holds, we will also do some pruning and other maintenance work. We will fill in some spaces and prune trees on the 11th of February in Osterley Lock Orchard , where, because of clearing work done by the Ealing Rangers, there is additional space for some apples and plums.

Special Thanks

We would like to say a special thank you to someone from Hanwell (sorry we didn’t get your name) who donated a beautiful apple tree (Malus Domestica ‘Pixie’). Currently heeled in, it will be planted on our next planting event on the 14th January.

Dates for the diary

For all events: Starting point is the allotments next to The Piggeries at 10:00 o’clock.

Saturday 14 January 2023: Planting and Pruning Blackberry Corner and meadows

Saturday 11 February 2023: Planting and pruning Osterley Lock and Elthorne Triangles

Saturday 11 March 2023: tasks to be announced

You are all invited…

It’s a quiet time in the orchards, so let’s have a……

XMAS get together!

Saturday 11^th December

from 19:30

17 Cambridge Road

Hanwell W7 3PA

Feel free to bring something for the sharing table.

Hope to see you all

Annual General Meeting

AGM

INVITATION & FORMAL NOTICE

Notice is hereby given of the Annual General Meeting of the Hanwell & Norwood Green Orchard Trail, which will be held on 

Wednesday 3th November, 2021

 72, St Margaret’s Road, Hanwell W7 2HF.

Start-time 19:30

All members of the Hanwell & Norwood Green Orchard Trail are entitled to attend and vote at the AGM. Please email hanwellorchard@gmail.com to confirm your attendance. There is no charge for attendance at the AGM.

By order of the Management Committee
Mirjam van Bentum (Chair)

Hanwell & Norwood Green Orchard Trail
2021

The end of Summer

Although our weekly, tree tending evenings had to stop because of fading light, our work is nowhere finished (is it ever?). Luckily for you, we’ve got some interesting events lined up for the coming months and we hope to see many of our members attending one or even more.

Apple day at Horsenden Farm

This Appleday -Saturday the 25th-, we’ll be at one of the stalls to tell you all about the plans for a new community orchard at Horsenden Farm. Orchards are a priority habitat for biodiversity, providing food and shelter for a wealth of wildlife. Working in an orchard reduces stress and anxiety. We are available this Saturday to answer all your questions on all things orchard, our orchard trail and the benefits for nature and people.

Saturday Orchard working days

The second Saturday of every month (except December) is ‘working Saturday’. Usually, we take on a task that needs more hands and time than our evening sessions. If you want to know where we are working, please register here Volunteer Email and you will receive an email with all the information, closer to the date. The planned activities will sometimes change last minute because of weather or other unforeseen circumstances and our volunteers email is the best way to stay in the loop. The planned dates are the following;

• Saturday 9th October (Blackberry Corner),
• Saturday 13th November (renewing labels, recce of trees and pruning needed)
• Saturday 8th January 2022 (Pruning / Mulching)
• Saturday 12th February 2022 (Pruning / Mulching)
• Saturday 12th March (to be announced)

Annual General Meeting 2021

It’s nearly that time of the year again, the time for our genuinely important and not quite so terribly serious AGM

 Wednesday 3th November, 2021

 at 72, St Margaret’s Road, Hanwell W7 2HF.

Start-time 19:30

I am happy to announce that this is our fifth AGM. None of the founding members expected the project to fail quickly, but I suppose we all share some pride in the fact that we made it so far, and the project still is very much alive and ticking after 7 years.

All members of the Hanwell & Norwood Green Orchard Trail are entitled to attend and vote at the AGM. Come along and cast your vote, share some nibbles, thoughts and suggestions, catch up with the latest plans, craziest ideas and help us continue to function as an organisation. (Please email hanwellorchard@gmail.com to confirm your attendance. There is no charge for attendance at the AGM.)

Summer Orchard Picnic

Come on over and join our

Summer Orchard Picnic
Saturday August 31st from 12:00
Jubilee Meadow (by the sheep)

Bring you own food and drink to the sharing table, bring your own children and friends. Bring your own smile, a kite, a blanket or camping chair.

The forecast promises a fine day and we are looking forward to a lazy Saturday in the balmy late Summer beauty of the Hanwell Meadows in your good company.

Please be mindful of plastic waste and food waste though: bring only as much as your own company would consume, avoiding plastic where possible. Please be prepared to take back leftovers. Please bring your own glass or cup so that we can avoid plastic cups – or drink straight from the bottle 😉

Guided Walk Along The Hanwell Orchard Trail

Part of the Mayor of London’s National Park City Festival

We are very happy to announce that we will be part of The Mayor of London’s National Park City Festival. This festival invites you to discover London’s amazing outdoors with events across the city, from outdoor fitness sessions and live performances to bee-keeping and open water events for the family. The Mayor of London is working with the National Park City Foundation, other partners and Londoners to make London the world’s first National Park City.

Find out more at www.london.gov.uk/national-park-city.

Come and join us for a 3-mile guided circular walk along a trail of community orchards we have planted on publicly accessible land beside the Grand Union Canal in Hanwell W7. We will also take in the historic Hanwell flight of locks and Brunel’s Three Bridges Monument. Please wear stout shoes and bring water, sunscreen or waterproof clothing or both!

Meet outside the Fox public house in Green Lane, Hanwell, W7 2PJ, Ealing (map)

Start time July 25th 11 am finish around 1pm

Will not go ahead in heavy rain or high winds.

It’s Picnic Time Soon

There is still time to the Summer Orchard Picnic but no time is better than now to get it into your diary:

Summer Orchard Picnic

Saturday August 31st, 2019 from 12:00

Jubilee Meadow by the sheep

As before, we’ll make this a bring-your-own affair: bring you own food and drink to the sharing table, bring your own children and friends. Bring your own smile, kite or camping chair.

We moved the date from the previous autumn picnic dates in September or October forward into August, hoping on nicer and more reliable weather, and we are already looking forward to a lazy Saturday in the balmy late Summer beauty of the Hanwell Meadows in your good company.

We’ll remind you closer to the date but trust that you put it into your diary now.

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Springtime Activity

We are promised perfect spring weather conditions for our extra tree planting

Tomorrow, Saturday March 30th

We’ll meet at St Margaret’s Orchard at 10 o’clock and plant about 6 new fruit trees in Blackberry Corner and Jubilee Meadows. You can help planting the trees, help with mulching, label replacement, raking and gathering recently cut nettles and hemlock. There are other light tasks as we go along, and you’re most welcome to simply go along.

Join us today for a delightful spring day out in Hanwell’s finest meadows.

We hope to be done in the early afternoon and will probably conclude business with refreshments at the Fox Inn from 1 or 2 o’clock.

 

P.S. Psssst! Tree Tending Tuesday re-starts this coming Tuesday April 2nd. Join us for light work, light banter, light rain and light refreshments! See volunteer email announcements or the Status and Schedule page close to the date for detail.

 

Walkabout with James

The rangers are leading a series of guided walks round the borough this year, looking at the history, wildlife and other features of interest while picking litter along the way. The walk takes two to three hours and ends in expert separation of recyclable items and waste.

The rangers will supply all equipment and make provisions to properly dispose of the collected items. All you need do is bring yourself, wrapped in sensible clothing and sturdy shoes.

Join us Saturday March 16th, 11:00 o’clock, St Margaret’s Open Space.

This event is organised by Ealing Park Rangers.

Extra Edition

Last year, with the help of Ealing Rangers, we created some EXTRA space in our oldest orchard….. This winter, we were given some ‘EXTRA’ fruit trees by the ranger of Horsenden Hill …. Now, we have all the ingredients we need for an EXTRA planting day at the end of March.
Please join us!

Saturday 30th of March is our 2019 EXTRA Tree Planting Day

We’ll meet at St Margaret’s Orchard at 10 o’clock and plant about 6 new fruit trees in Blackberry Corner and Jubilee Meadows. You can help planting the trees, help with mulching, label replacement or other light tasks as we go along, and you’re most welcome to simply go along.

We plan to finish the job with refreshments at the Fox Inn between 1 and 2 o’clock in the afternoon.