We’d like to monitor the wildlife as much as possible in the orchard - please leave any sightings in the comments below.

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As part of our Management Plan (PDF), we need to find out how many varieties of living things inhabit our Orchard. The plant life has already been observed and recorded (PDF report ). We have now begun to record the animal life with particular attention to the invertebrates (insects, snails, spiders etc).

Catherine Barber (with assistance from Jo Barber) offered her expertise in trapping and identifying the finds.

There will be two surveys done in 2010, July and August, and four more in 2011, May June July and August. The results will be used to record a starting point for the biodiversity on this plot which we can monitor regularly and so find out if there have been any substantial changes over time.

We include a few pictures which show Catherine and Jo at work in July 2010 (with the assistance of a couple of volunteers who tried to help - but who felt like they mostly got in the way!)

Our thanks to Catherine and Jo and all the little bugs that participated.  The final survey will be posted on the site.

– Jill H.

Tools for the job

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The orchard is buzzing away with a new apiary managed by “bee man” Paul Wheeldon. We have two hives, both from local suppliers, and both busily occupied. Steve Lewis and the crew from the council very kindly constructed the protective cage around the hives.

The hives are placed so that the bees enter and exit through the side closest to the stone wall. This means that they should fly up and over the hives, and away from the ground.

The bees seem to be settling nicely into their new home, and we’re happy to have them here!

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It’s been a cold winter at the orchard. We’re all enjoying the milder spring weather though, and soon the orchard will burst back into life.

There have been a couple of changes to the website, firstly, there is a new section called “In the Orchard” which as well as the Orchard guide, which lists our trees, now includes the comprehensive Orchard Management Plan, provided by the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. It’s a very comprehensive document, based on two very thorough site visits from the Trust - it makes fascinating reading, and will be a useful reference for the coming years.

Also, we would like to encourage you to get involved on this page, by recording any wildlife sightings in the comments at the bottom of the page. If anyone sends pictures, we will try and make a photo gallery on this page too.

And don’t forget to keep looking at our Gallery, especially Pat Stanway’s photograph albums, which are frequently updated.

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Thanks to the Derbyshire Wildlife trust, we now have the New Mills Community Orchard Management Plan 2010 – 2015 (large PDF)for maintaining the diversity of the wildlife in the orchard, while hoping to keep the orchard as productive and pleasant for visitors as possible. It contains a wealth of information regarding the biodiversity of the site, and gives practical pointers for the future.

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Some great new pictures in the gallery from Pat Sanway - showing the blossom, and the bees hard at work.

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We have put some horses on the lower part of the orchard site to help with the management of some of the dense undergrowth, to facilitate later planting in that area.

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Back in July, local botanist John Hawksford kindly agreed to perform a botanical survey on the orchard site. Here is his report: Botanical Survey (900kb PDF file)

In summary, it seems that the planting so far hasn’t damaged the flora, and there are some interesting rare examples among the 63 different species on the site.

Following are some examples to look out for:

Many thanks to John for his time on this - I’m sure it will be a valuable educational resource for us in the future.

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