In our eight acre orchard we have a large number of traditional old Bramley apple trees planted in the early twentieth century. Although the trees are healthy and fruit producing they are not commercially viable due to changes in market conditions and the high costs of maintaining such large old trees. These days most orchard fruit is grown in intensive commercial orchards on semi-dwarf rootstock with trees planted close to one another in herbicide treated rows rather than in traditional orchards such as ours.
But traditional orchards and these old Bramley apple trees are incredibly important from an ecological and biodiversity point of view. They provide habitat for thousands of insects, mammals and birds, bryophytes (mosses & liverworts), lichens, invertebrates and fungi many of which have high conservation priorities.
For those of you who would like to help conserve our Bramley apple trees for future generations we are offering the opportunity to Sponsor a Bramley Apple Tree on an annual basis. Sponsoring one of our trees is a great way to find out more about fruit growing and biodiversity rich traditional orchards. You can purchase sponsorship for yourself or as a gift.
Sponsorship of a Bramley Apple Tree with fruit includes:
- A certificate of sponsorship
- A monthly photograph of the Bramley trees sent direct to your email
- A quarterly newsletter updating you on what's happening in the orchard sent direct to your email
The cost of annual sponsorship without fruit is £12 per tree
Sponsoring one of our Bramley apple trees is easy, simply email us your name, address and email address and we'll send you a invoice. Payment can be made using debit or credit card, via PayPal, cheque or if you prefer you can pop into The Orchard Tea Room and Farm Shop and pay cash. Once payment has been received your certificate of sponsorship will be posted to you or your chosen recipient.
The Orchard, Redmoor Lane, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, PE14 0RN.
