GRAHAM Steel does not sound too worried about scrumpers. “Our apples are for everybody,” he says. “They are for the community.”
He and fellow volunteers have planted fruit trees in plastic boxes at what was once a derelict corner of one of Scotland’s poorest communities, Glasgow’s Govanhill.
He has classic Scottish Saturns, pears, and berries too. And they are all for sharing.
True, Mr Steel and his fellow volunteers at Govanhill Community Gardens do not expect a full harvest until next year.
But they are determined to show something more than just fruit can grow in the neighbourhood.
It has been four years since First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the local MSP, opened the community gardens next to Govanhill Housing Association.
This gap site, the former Royal Samaritan Hospital for Women, has been used to train locals in everything from composting to recycling.
Now it is also part of a UK-wide scheme to create urban orchards, trees that clean the air, suck up the carbon causing global heating, and give locals tasty fruit, too.
The Orchard Project, a charity, has planted or restored 8000 fruit trees in Scotland and England over the last decade.
Bulmers, a cider brand which boasts it only uses British fruit, has been funding the effort.
Eva Stensland, senior brand manager for Bulmers said: “Together, we’re breathing life into the UK’s forgotten orchards and so far have created more green space at the heart of communities by planting or restoring 200 community orchards, working alongside over 3,000 volunteers.
“It’s been incredible to see people gaining new skills as we open up these vibrant green spaces which are bringing people together.”
Govanhill’s orchard has a sister in Saughton, Edinburgh, and others around the UK. including one in Manchester restored with the help of 60 Minute Makeover star, Peter Andre.
He said: “It’s amazing to think that hidden within hundreds of urban communities are orchards similar to the one in Manchester, where people can come together and benefit from a bit of fresh air.
“The volunteers today have given up their time and worked really hard, alongside a little expert know-how, to provide locals with a truly beautiful and environmentally friendly community hub.
“And by their very nature, orchards grow apples – which can be eaten, made into juice, and of course, cider.”
In Victorian times Glasgow and the Clyde Valley were a major centre for apple production, despite the contemporary view that such fruit from England or the continent was better.
Growers say the land in and around the city is often very suitable for planting fruit trees or berry bushes.
About 40 varieties of apple, such as the Bloody Ploughman or the Lass o’ Gowrie, used to be grown only in Scotland, just a tiny number of the more than two thousand varieties across the UK.
However, the past century, experts estimate, as much as 90 per cent of the UK’s orchards have been grubbed up for development or agricultural use.
The number of varieties for sale in supermarkets has also declined. Two years ago we reported how, thanks to John Hancox, of the Commonwealth Orchard, communities across Scotland are now sharing the experience and are helping to revive the traditional varieties.
He said: “We’re working with schools and community groups to plant new orchards.
“The idea is that people like having fruit growing near where they live. If you look at medieval maps of cities like Stirling, Perth, or Glasgow the centres of these cities used to have orchards growing in them.
“The Merchant City in Glasgow is built on the site of an old pear orchard.
“So there’s a very long history of people growing food in urban areas. It’s a shame that most of the apples you get are imported, and there’s a very limited range.
“The other thing that really annoys me at this time of year is that there are loads of apple trees in Scotland, dripping with fruit that doesn’t get picked.”
More than 70 per cent of apples on sale in British shops, a market worth £320 million annually, are imported, especially big-selling modern varieties such as Granny Smith’s and Golden Delicious.
Last year a ‘census’ of orchards counted some 880 still intact in Scotland, including some newly-discovered ones.
Govanhill, meanwhile, is also home to one of Scotland’s few sustainable supermarkets, Locavore, which sells as much locally produced food as it can.
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