A community orchard is staging a birthday lunch to celebrate its 16th anniversary and give people the chance to see what they’ve achieved over the years.
Highfields Community Orchard is at the bottom of Mountjoy Road at the junction with Wentworth Street and next to Holy Trinity Church close to Huddersfield town centre and stages several fun events every year.
The event coincides with the national Big Lunch weekend which is the UK’s annual celebration of community, encouraging neighbours to share food, friendship and fun.
The birthday lunch is on Sunday, June 7, from 12noon to 2.30pm and will feature free pizza and a birthday cake. People can also bring their own food, drink and pop-up chairs.
The land is owned by Kirklees Council. It was originally used as a playground for the former private Mountjoy School but became overgrown when the school closed.
Kirklees originally wanted to build three homes on it but when nothing happened nearby residents planted six apple trees in 2010 to turn it into an orchard and the council later designated it as a patch of green land in the local plan which has a similar protection to green belt.
There are now around 25 trees ranging from cherry, apple and plum to hazel, birch, oak and sycamore, along with strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb and a herb bed.
The orchard is cared for by a community group called Friends of Highfields Community Orchard and chairman Tom Taylor said: “We campaigned, persisted, planted and weeded and the orchard is now recognised and protected as community green space, open to all for picnics, play, nature, learning and wellbeing.
“The fruit is free – people are welcome to help themselves so long as they leave plenty for others.
“Families often use it along with people who live in flats and bedsits in the area that don’t have gardens of their own.’’
The orchard has benches made out of scrap wood or fallen trees.
Tom added: “We’d like to say thanks to S2R, Kirklees Council, Natural Kirklees, Colas Ltd, Greenhead Family Doctors and, most of all, to friends, family and neighbours for helping us along the way to make this a fabulous community green space for our area.’’
Upcoming events include an apple day on Sunday, September 27 from 2pm to 4pm for fun and games. Bring the kids and picnic food to share, especially apple dishes.
On Friday, November 6 from 6pm to 8pm there will be a little bonfire in a brazier with families urged to bring snacks to share.
For more on the orchard go to the Friends of Highfields Community Orchard on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/106845889356559
Alternatively, email communityorchard@flow.org.uk
Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content, copywriting and ghost-writing autobiographies.
