Rokeby Recreation Ground Community Orchard
2021: The pictures show an aerial view of the chosen planting site and the orchard planted by the tree sponsors after the first planting weekend of 27th - 28th November 2021
We have now created a community orchard as a lovely, long term space for the villagers of Tokers Green, Dyson’s Wood and Chazy Heath to enjoy.
It is located in the second field at Rokeby Recreation Ground, with the kind permission of Mapleduram Parish council.
We invited local residents to be part of this community project by donating and planting a tree. Everyone interested was asked to choose either an apple, pear, plum, cherry or quince tree.
The most suitable trees were selected, from a local nursery, based on appearance, rootstock and pollination characteristics, with an overall balance of varieties.
The 31 heritage trees were planted in the first year of the orchard as a community activity on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th November 2021, and the slideshows below show the chosen site, its preparation the weekend before the initial planting, the activities over the first planting weekend, and the planted orchard. Scroll down to see pictures of our regular work to maintain the orchard as well as the community coming together to plant more trees in later years -
Although the trees were donated and planted by individuals or families, they now belong to the community so that maintenance, such as weeding and pruning, and harvesting of the fruit each Autumn, will be a collective effort. Hopefully, the trees should begin to bear fruit in 2 or 3 years.
Previous years: Community Orchard working party activity
Previous years Working Party Activity
Community Orchard Activity Year 2026
2026 June 2nd
At our working group today (first Tuesday of the month) we watered all the trees even though there was a fair amount of rain in the last 24 hours. The ground was still very dry after the recent hot weather and some trees appeared stressed.
Many are budding so hoping there will be a decent fruit crop later in the year
Also - very pleasingly - quite a few of the wildflowers planted last year are now in bloom and look terrific
2026 May 5th
At our first "first Tuesday evening of the month" working group we weeded around the base of all the trees - as a result the whole orchard looked lovely - tidy and cared for. The group was very efficient and it took less than an hour to get them all weeded. Graham has cut the grass with his mower again - already a couple of times this year and we also cut the grass near the base of each tree. Here's a picture of the group after the weeding
February2026 February 6
A good sized group of hardy folk braved the weather to mulch all our trees today. As always many hands and wheelbarrows made light work of moving 3 enormous bags of mulch from the end of Elm Road - which is as near as the delivery lorry can go - up to the orchard. A good job to be completed in winter.
