Community orchards & forest gardens
About two thirds of Britain’s orchards have been lost since 1960. Much of our fruit is imported, with environmental and social effects.
Community orchards and forest gardens bring people together to grow food, share skills and care for local green spaces. They can create welcoming places for people and wildlife, protect traditional fruit varieties and provide fruit for sharing, juicing, cooking and community events.
Why create a community orchard?
Community orchards give local people the opportunity to grow fruit together on land that is often accessible to the wider public. Volunteers care for the trees, share the harvest and create opportunities for people to meet, learn and celebrate. Orchards can support biodiversity and help preserve fruit varieties that are rarely found in supermarkets. They are also a lower-maintenance way to create a productive shared growing space.
Find a community orchard
Somerset is apple country, with established community orchards and forest gardens across the county.
Use our growing projects map to find local groups, or explore the national orchard inventory to discover community orchards and traditional orchard sites.
Starting a community orchard
Starting a community orchard is a long-term project, but it can begin with a small group of people and a shared idea.
The key early steps are to find allies, agree how you will work together, secure a suitable site, consider funding and make a plan for the orchard to become a place for learning, volunteering and community events.
- Find people who want to help make it happen
- Decide how your group will work together
- Find and secure a suitable site
- Plan for funding, tools, trees and long-term care
- Make space for community events, learning and sharing the harvest
Somerset inspiration
Frieze Hill Community Orchard in Taunton was created on land that had formed part of nearby allotments. Volunteers have planted more than 100 trees, established diverse hedges and organised popular local events.
Porlock Vale Community Orchard grew with support from the Get Growing Support Fund as part of the Somerset Land & Food Project. However their work started many months before, when two volunteers talked about how to revitalise the orchard in the village, communicating with the landowner and bringing people together to make the restoration possible.
Brendon Orchards in Wiveliscombe runs volunteer-led community juicing sessions, helping people make the most of local fruit.
Forest gardens and food forests
Forest gardens are productive spaces designed in layers, using fruit and nut trees alongside shrubs, climbers, herbs and ground-cover plants. They can offer a longer-term, lower-input approach to shared food growing.
For local inspiration, explore Lydford Forest Gardens and The Food Forest Project.
Other Somerset Orchards you can visit (admission charges may apply).
National Trust - Avalon Orchard, Glastonbury and Barrington Court Orchards, near Ilminster.
Orchard at Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury
Woodland Trust - Dutchies Orchard, South Petherton and Gross Wood, Norton Sub Hamden
Further advice and support
Recommended Reading
The Holistic Orchard, Michael Phillips
Community Orchards Handbook, Sue Clifford & Angela King
Where to buy fruit trees
Cider Apple Trees, Sparkford: www.ciderappletrees.co.uk
Chew Valley Trees, Chew Magna: https://www.chewvalleytrees.co.uk/
Ashridge Trees, Castle Cary (mail order only) https://www.ashridgetrees.co.uk/
Last reviewed: July 2026
Know of a community orchard or forest garden that should be included on the growing projects map? Please get in touch.