The way in which we see our cities is outdated. Cities are defined by their large populations and their densely packed housing. They’re renowned for their commercial centres and the development of technological advancements. Cities are efficient in transporting goods and services because of the high concentration of consumers and are often praised for their potential in tackling climate change. However, the concentration of people and buildings also contributes to some of the highest levels of pollution, the creation of urban heat islands, and high stresses on resources. Cities are also at very high risk from the impacts of climate change, especially since they’re often situated near rivers or oceans.

With more than half of the world’s population now living in cities, it is imperative that we change how we define our cities. Our cities should not be separated from nature; we should be working with nature to both reduce our carbon footprints and increase our resilience to change.

In Portsmouth, the Wildlife Trust is supporting community groups and individuals to make more space for nature and create a #WilderPortsmouth as part of the Team Wilder movement. But way before this hashtag ever started, Charles Dickens Community Orchard was already working on transforming the city of Portsmouth into an orchard.

In 2016, Portsmouth City Council’s (PCC) Resident Engagement Officer, Trish Bell, and local resident and plant enthusiast Dennis David came together to create a community orchard on Cornwallis Crescent.

The half-acre of land on Cornwallis Crescent had been derelict since it was destroyed by a bomb in 1940. Unfortunately, over the years, it had become a community dumping ground. Dennis remembered it as a wild area from his childhood which sometimes had horses on it, and where he could watch butterflies. He saw the land’s potential to ‘be a massive community asset.’

It took Trish and Dennis several years to gather support and funding for this project. Dennis was great at lobbying people and knocking on doors. Trish was (and continues to be) an organising force behind the project, and there were a number of other very keen and interested people involved right from the start. Some of the early funding came from the Co-op, Portsmouth Together, and Heartlands.

Early on they also successfully got support from Helen Bergin, one of PCC’s Landscape Architects. Trish told us they got the landscape architects on board because they ‘support planting all trees, especially the right trees in the right place… The Landscape Architects have helped us to increase the biodiversity with a variety of trees which can provide food for wildlife as well as humans.’

Planting began in March 2016. ‘We planted all sorts,’ Dennis remembers. ‘We’ve now got about forty different kinds of trees, including apples, pears, plums, pomegranates, greengage, mulberry and cherry.’ There are also raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries. Children are encouraged to come and pick for themselves, ‘and they love it. [They] get into the strawberries and eat them’. And ‘if Trish has bulbs to plant, they all come over saying, “Can we help you plant them?”

In 2016 Jon Stokes, Trees and Science Director of the Tree Council, heard of the orchard and came over for a visit. Jon’s meeting with Trish and Dennis resulted in an even more ambitious plan; a plan to plant orchards right across Portsmouth. Trish and Dennis thought of Portsmouth’s heritage and how much Charles Dickens loved to eat apples. ‘[We were] inspired to form the Charles Dickens Community Orchards linking Charles Dickens’ birthplace with apples.’

‘Since then, we have put in many orchards closely following the Charles Dickens birthplace trail. An orchard is five or more trees and there is a masterplan in place now to put fruit trees throughout the city. It took many meetings to get this into place and out of Dennis’s head onto paper.’

Trish says that the inspirations for the community orchard ‘also included free fruit for local people. Charles Dickens loved to help the local people and it fits in with his ethos. We also wanted to come up with a foraging resource for local people and help folks understand the value of fruit grown on their own trees. This project has so many strands which includes education, training, horticulture, literature, wellbeing, and community cohesion through involving the local people in planting and nurturing the trees.’

Indeed, Charles Dickens Community Orchard is a fantastic example of a project that benefits the community, wildlife, and our local environment all in one. It is exactly the sort of project the Trust would like to see replicated across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight as part of the Team Wilder movement.

Portsmouth's communities come together to plant and nurture trees and benefit from free fruit throughout the year. Then there is of course the added benefit of creating pollinator corridors through the city for our insects to drink the nectar of the trees’ flowers. Dennis also mentioned how they plant multiple tree species now to protect the orchards from biological attacks. ‘You can’t have one sort of tree now, you’ve got to have a mixture because a whole species could get wiped out by a single disease.’ The orchards also function to reduce pollution by absorbing carbon dioxide and decrease the urban heat island effect by increasing green cover.

Many organisations are now involved with and are supporting the community orchard, such as Portsmouth City Council, the Tree Council, Community First, Food Cycle, Zero Waste Portsmouth, youth organisations, community cohesion groups such as Urbond, Solent Mind, Roller Wenches, Good Gym, druids, and local people.

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust have also been keen to get involved. Wilder Communities Officer, Andy Ames, reflects ‘Working in partnership with the community orchard team has given Wilder Portsmouth the opportunity to plant fruiting trees in many of its community focused projects from North End to Southsea. Now when I work with community groups in other areas of the city who want to plant trees, I just have to link them up with the community orchard! Making these sort of connections is what Team Wilder is all about; there's no point re-creating something that is already working really well.’

The team are already planning a bog-like area in the Cornwallis Crescent Community Orchard and a scheme to recruit junior tree wardens to protect trees planted in schools and adventure playgrounds is gathering momentum. Trish and Dennis never stand still. Future plans also include:

• Encouraging children to plant wildflower meadows.
• Raising more funding for planting via crowdfunding.

Trish and Dennis’s passion for the community orchards is clear and their motivations are truly humbling.

‘It’s for children,’ Dennis said. ‘It’s to help people. Because people come along, and they love sitting down. They come out from their flats, they walk past, they keep the place lovely and tidy, they put the rubbish in the bins, and they really enjoy themselves. It’s especially lovely in the summertime because you’ve got all the wild plants growing up. You’ve got all the butterflies flitting through. And you get in touch with the nature, the nature right there on your doorstep.’

Trish adds, ‘we are passionate about planting more fruit trees in Portsmouth because things are going to get tighter financially for families and having free fruit for local people is a bonus.

‘Working with the community brings its own rewards such as greater networking and improved mental health. I love seeing people out and about, bringing communities together and above all creating an improved environment that humans and wildlife will share.’

Adapted and edited by Marianne Lotter-Jones, Wilder Campaigns and Events Officer, from an article written by Helen Salsbury, Pens of the Earth. http://pensoftheearth.co.uk/community-orchards-article/

Founders of the Community Orchard are: Trish Bell, Dennis David, Jon Stokes, Pauline Powell. With special acknowledgement to The Tree Council, Portsmouth city Council

You can find out more by following these links:

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Community-Service/Charles-Dickens-Community-Orchards-2215405345411275/

And on this website: https://www.portsmouthtree.org.uk/html/cornwallis_orchard.html