Community orchard planted

Dec 2 2011 by Stephen Robertson, Stirling Observer Friday

A COMMUNITY orchard containing 29 Scottish fruit trees has been planted in Callander.

S1 pupils from McLaren High School turned out to help with the project last Wednesday, despite the bad weather.

The orchard at the McLaren Leisure Centre is part of the Fruitful Callander project.

It includes apple, pear and plum trees, with Scottish varieties such as ‘Scots Bridget’, ‘Galloway Pippin’, ‘Melrose’, ‘Clydeside’ and ‘Ardcairn Russet’.

Astrid Horward of Callander and Climate Change said: “The idea is to help people in Callander grow their own fruit.

“One of the sub-projects is the community orchard and we are also hoping to give people the chance to have a fruit tree in their garden.”

The project organisers are also looking at other areas in Callander to do some planting.

They hope produce from the trees will be distributed at a fruit fair in Callander.

Astrid said the Fruitful Callander initiative has already had backing from David Shearer at the McLaren Leisure Centre and orchard expert Andrew Lear.

She also praised the McLaren High pupils who helped, saying: “It was a bit muddy on the day but everyone really enjoyed themselves.”

For more information on Fruitful Callander visit www.callanderandclimatechange.org.uk or call 07511 190851.