As January brought a fresh start for many people, the team at Newquay Orchard are continuing to provide the same vital support to the community. A renewed sense of hope is felt by many of us here as frosty mornings, blue sky afternoons and dramatic sunsets have welcomed us through January.
This month we welcomed the Archbishop of Canterbury whilst he was visiting the Nansledan development to look at best practice housing. Our CEO Luke Berkely and COO Jenny Hindson showed the group around Newquay Orchard whilst highlighting our education and social impact programmes.
Growing Futures students have enjoyed another month of learning outdoors. They have been capturing the space through photography to share on the Newquay Orchard social media channels which will help to promote the upcoming Growing Futures Open Day which is a chance for young people to experience first hand the wonderful outdoor classroom that is the Orchard.
In January Newquay Orchard volunteers took part in activities to shake that Blue Monday feeling. A day-long schedule of activities including a walking group at St Agnes, an in-depth nature tour of the Orchard and a yoga lesson relaxed and revitalized volunteers. A day of activities such as this helps volunteers to connect with nature and their wellbeing and brings our community together during harder times.
Volunteers have also been co-designing various elements of the Orchard, namely our coming Volunteer Hub. This will be a place where volunteers can enjoy hot drinks, do indoor activities and share a quiet space with Newquay Orchard’s Change Coaches. Volunteers shared their thoughts on where it should be placed, how it is finished to ensure it settles into the natural landscape and how it can best serve its purpose. The reclaimed container unit which will house the space was delivered late December 2021 and is scheduled to be finished in springtime. Situated in An Lowarth it overlooks the volunteer led grow space; the perfect sanctuary and the heart of everything we do.
Hetty Ninnis, Sustainable Landscapes Manager, and Sarah Anthony, Education Manager, hosted the first Horticulture Masterclass this month; a great way to teach our community about biodiversity and permaculture. The 5 hour workshop taught paying members of the public and volunteers alike how to get their garden’s ready for spring. They even brought soil samples from their gardens so that Hetty and Sarah could teach them to identify pH levels and recommend plants and produce that will thrive in it.
In mid-January we invited the community to one of the biggest events in our calendar, the Newquay Orchard Wassail. Wassailing is a tradition popular in orchards across the country and is an ancient English yuletide festival. It was a chance to bless our orchard, ward off evil spirits and welcome in the good spirits for a bountiful harvest in the year ahead. Local people gathered around the fire to listen to tales from a storyteller before the Wassail Queen led the procession through the greenspace banging pots and pans to scare away the bad spirits. Wassailers sang a traditional Wassail song, accompanied by one of our volunteers on his fiddle. The Wassail Queen then fed the chosen tree with apple juice and children hung toast soaked in the juice from its branches.
The Wassail celebration also coincided with Newquay Orchard’s 7th birthday! Wassailers sang Happy Birthday to the Orchard and it also provided us a chance to look back at how much the space has changed and developed in the past year; all whilst improving biodiversity, helping ease social deprivation and providing a safe space for all.
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