Nature Blossoms in Traditional Orchards

Old orchards are disappearing at such an alarming rate they are now classified as a rare wildlife habitat across the country.

Built on or uprooted to make way for arable crops or paddocks, traditional orchards not only provide us with local apple varieties, they are also crucial habitats for wildlife including birds, bats and insects.

The West Weald Landscape Project (WWLP) based at Sussex Wildlife Trust (SWT) is helping restore the county’s lost orchards by encouraging local landowners to plant Sussex apple varieties such as Crawley Reinnette, Sussex Mother and Wadhurst Pippin.

Petra Billings, the Trust’s Landowner Advisor explains “Wildlife thrives in traditional orchards. Apple blossom is a magnet for bumble bees and other pollinating insects while the trees provide feeding areas for declining bird species such as lesser spotted woodpeckers and cover for rare bats such as the barbastelle bat on their nightly flight lines.”

An orchard meadow grazed traditionally by a few sheep or cattle or cut in the summer for hay, encourages wildflowers, butterflies and fungi, while apple wood is a particularly important habitat for beetles such as the threatened green noble chafer beetle.

The West Weald is one of the most wooded landscapes in Britain, covering a large area of West Sussex and south Surrey. The project team is already helping put back our lost apple heritage with surveys, mapping and advice to several landowners on restoring their orchards with Sussex apple varieties.

If you are a landowner and wish to find out more about traditional orchards please contact Petra Billings by email petrabillings@sussexwt.org.uk
More information on the WWLP can be found at www.westweald.org.uk

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