From “The London Orchard Project: bringing fruit to car parks” by Jason Gleeson

Every year between June and October, the Hackney Marshes in north-east London (UK) are covered with sweet, luscious blackberries. Families bring buckets and collect the free harvest, turning the berries into jams, smoothies and many other recipes. They are so abundant that most of the succulent berries are never picked.  Yet larger supermarkets will sell blackberries for as much as £3 for a small handful, and people will buy it. Most Londoners don’t know about this abundance and have never had this close a relationship with their food and local wildlife. The London Orchard Project aims to change all this.

Founded by Rowena Ganguli and Carina Dunkerley, in less than a year the Project team has assessed, prepared and planted orchards on 12 sites in nine boroughs around the capital; and trained 50 orchard leaders in orchard management skills.  The London Orchard Project is working in partnership with community groups and local authorities to design, plant and maintain community orchards. They provide training in orchard management and support to community groups – including mapping and developing new local food distribution models and in effect creating a network of Londoners engaged in orchard activities.

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