Connecting living systems, food and community
We are delighted to welcome artist Mel Shand will be the Far Orchard lead artist for two years. Mel’s first body of work ‘A Portrait of The Far Orchard’ is focused on connections between people and their trees and invites the host network to have their portrait taken. The portraits will be showcased at the Barn in June 2025.
For more information on the project, click here
Mel is an artist, photographer, author and play-write based in Finzean.
It has always the intention for Far Orchard Artists Robbie Coleman and Jo Hodges to take a back seat after the first year and to invite different artists to work with the network. The Far Orchard intends to develop over time not just by adding new trees and hosts but by using creativity as a way to explore and deepen our understanding of the natural world around us. By introducing new artists to the Far Orchard, tree hosts will be able to engage with the project in new ways.
We are delighted to welcome Caitlin Dick as the Far Orchard artist for 2023/24. Her practice is inspired by the environment, utilising sculpture, film and printmaking to realise her ideas. She focuses on the intersections between people and the environment, specifically she likes to concentrate on the minuscule, the microscopic and the parts of nature we overlook. Most recently, she has been interested in the role of care through relationships in nature, questions how care can be presented and nurtured. Caitlin graduated from Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen in 2017 and went on to complete a Masters at Edinburgh College of Art in 2018. She is also a beekeeper.
The Far Orchard Anniversary Event
We are delighted to announce The Beekeepers Tea Party at the Barn on Sunday 23rd April. 1-3pm at The Barn
The Beekeepers Tea Party will be a warm and family friendly event, with tea and cakes, sampling of local honey and a chance to meet beekeepers and talk to them about their relationship with bees. Participants will be be able to make a Bee Hotel to take away, there’ll be advice on planting bee friendly gardens and interactive installations exploring pollinators.
At this time of year when the apple blossom starts to open and pollinators become active, The Far Orchard is keen to deepen our understanding of the pollinating insects in our landscape. Like much of the natural world, insect pollinators are under pressure from pollution and habitat loss and the event offers an opportunity to learn more and to find ways to support them. Without pollinators we would have a much harder time growing the food we need.
This event marks the one-year anniversary of the planting of the Far Orchard and is a great opportunity to celebrate the anniversary and meet with other hosts. Creating opportunities to build a rich and connected community network is a key element of the ethos of the Far Orchard. See HERE for images of the event.
15 January 2023
Join us for an opportunity to get “up close and personal” with apple trees and gain valuable hands-on experience of the whole pruning process. This workshop will be led by our apple expert Andrew Lear, the Appletreeman. It is ideal for complete beginners, and for those wishing to refresh skills.
The day will run from 10:30am to 2:30pm at the Barn.
Andrew will go through the different methods of pruning and the reasons for it. You will also be shown all the tools you will need and have their safe use and maintenance explained to you. You are welcome to bring along what you normally prune with, including loppers, secateurs and sharpening tools for Andrew to comment on.
Andrew will be demonstrating on the veteran James Grieve and espaliers in the Walled Garden and other trees in the neighbouring allotments.
There will be ample time to ask questions and become completely confident with techniques. Bring photos of your trees for individual advice. Andrew will also be happy to briefly answer questions on apple tree pests, diseases & disorders.
Wear warm cloths, gloves and strong footwear and please bring some lunch. The Barn will provide hot drinks and some sugary treats such as cake to keep your strength up! Donations to cover costs are welcome.
For more information on Andrew, see his website https://plantsandapples.com/about/
If you’d like to sign up for the workshop please email thefarorchard@thebarnarts.co.uk before 11 January 2023.
Thanks to everyone who came along to the Plenty? event at the Barn on 22/23rd October. As well as being a traditional harvest festival with apple pressing and juicing, the event explored ideas around how we can work together to live with less to keep planetary ecosystems healthy and sustainable into the future. There was music, film, installation, participatory activities, exhibitions, workshops and talks exploring these themes. https://www.thebarnarts.co.uk/article/plenty
We were there with The Far Orchard Zone, talking about the project and exploring how we might create new networks of care with an ecological focus.
Below: Apple pressing at the PLENTY Festival.
Images Grant Anderson
Even though the apple trees were only planted in April some of them have produced apples this year and existing trees have had a bumper harvest. Thanks to all The Far Orchard hosts for sending photos in.
With apple trees in full bloom, we’ve been trying to snap some of the pollinators at work.
Apple trees requires pollen to be transferred from the male part of the flower to the female part of a different but compatible variety of apple tree. This is called cross pollination and must happen at bloom time. Without the transfer of pollen to a compatible tree nearby, there wont be any apples! We’ll be asking all our tree hosts to look out for other apple trees nearby to make sure their trees are in pollination range. We’ll be mapping all the trees and planting new trees in any gaps.
We’ve been getting some great photos of the apple trees after they’ve been planted. Looking forward to next year when they’ll start producing apples.
Thanks to everyone who came along to the Barn to pick up their tree on 24th April, brand their tree tag and pin their location on The Far Orchard Map. Andrew Lear our fruit tree expert was busy all afternoon answering questions. It was lovely to meet everyone and start the process of forming The Far Orchard Community. More images HERE
We were really happy to go and help Trish (who has been shielding) to plant the first Far Orchard Tree. She has named it ‘Tree of Hope’.
The Far Orchard 