Our Volunteer Satisfaction Survey 2020
As a charity, run entirely by volunteers, our most valuable asset is without doubt...our volunteers!
Every year we receive a fantastic amount of volunteer input adding up to several thousand hours of time. This contributes a significant equivalent cash value, in labour cost terms, from our volunteers and helpers across an exceptionally broad spectrum of activities.
These include governance to include finance, communications, strategy, and health and safety; through to practical work including orchard work, tree and hedgerow management, buildings maintenance, mowing and strimming, jam and juice making and sheep husbandry! Wow, that's quite a list!
In September last year we undertook a short and simple on-line survey of some of our regular volunteers using Survey Monkey, to which we received replies from over a dozen respondents.
QUESTIONNAIRE QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
Q1 – How appreciated do you feel by COG?
A. All respondents picked the most favourable two of five categories - ‘Extremely’46%, ‘Very’ 54%.
Q2 – Overall, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your practical volunteer experience with COG?
A. All respondents picked the most favourable two of five categories - ‘Very satisfied’ 85%, ‘Satisfied’ 15%.
Q3 – How likely are you to continue volunteering with COG in the future?
A. All respondents picked the most favourable two of five categories - ‘Extremely likely’ 83%, ‘Very likely’ 17%.
Q4 – What do you enjoy most about practical volunteering with COG. Please describe up to 3 items.
A. A very diverse set of answers but standout words/phrases included ‘Meeting people’, ‘Exercise’, ‘Achievement’, ‘Community’, ‘Being in the great outdoors’, ‘Learning’.
Q5. What, if anything do you dislike about volunteering with COG. Please describe up to three items.
A. Most people said ‘Nothing’.
Q6. Do you feel that you are given sufficient training and instruction to undertake practical work tasks?
A. All respondents picked the most favourable of three responses ‘Yes, I feel that I receive sufficient training and instruction’ 100%.
Q7. Do you feel that you are given sufficient tools, equipment and PPE to undertake practical work tasks?
A. All respondents picked the most favourable of three responses ‘Yes, I feel that I receive sufficient tools, equipment and PPE’ 100%.
Q8. What are your favourite practical volunteering tasks? Please tick up to five items.
A. From a mixed selection of our activities the most popular ones included helping out at events, meadows creation and maintenance, preparation for events, tree planting, and fruit tree pruning. The least popular were mowing and strimming.
Q9. How could we make the practical volunteering sessions better?
A. There was a significant statistical bias towards responses advocating the re-introduction of cake into the proceedings(!) - sadly something that's currently on hold due to Covid. Other standout responses made reference to the benefit of having prior knowledge as to what was going to happen at a work party, plus one comment was
‘ Maybe have occasional theory/classroom sessions related to various activities’.
Q10. We regularly hold practical volunteer sessions every Friday morning and on the third Sunday of each month. Are there other times when you would prefer us to hold these regular practical volunteer sessions? Please specify.
A. All those who commented (5 respondents) wished to continue with the Friday mornings as being the most suitable.
Thanks to everyone who took part. The responses have been enlightening and we will act upon them in the future, and we also hope to repeat the exercise in a year or two.
Wassail 2021 Is Cancelled
It's with a heavy heart that we are unable to host the Colwall Orchard Group annual Wassail this year.
The ceremony to wake up the orchard trees and to help to encourage the annual fruit crop has fallen foul of Covid and the current national lockdown.
For several years now this has been OUR BIG ANNUAL EVENT and is an important part of the local social calendar.
Not to be deterred we hope to be back again with this fun family celebration next year with all of the familiar features including the torchlit procession through the orchard, the Wassail ceremony round the apple tree and then plenty of food and drink, with singing round the bonfire.
Our Wassail in 2020 was, as ever, very well supported and we have gathered together some fabulous photos from attendees now pulled together into a five minute video with a backing track by local folk rock band The Roving Crows.
View our Video of the 2020 Wassail
Why not spend five minutes looking at our video of the January 2020 Wassail?
If you don't know anything about wassailing it's a good introduction. If you were there, see whether you can spot yourself in the images.
Tree Planting In Stamps Orchard
As part of our Traditional Orchards for the Future Initiative (TOFI) project we've been planting trees recently. This is our joint project run in conjunction with our partners at Malvern Hills AONB, and local landowners, with the intention of adding to and gapping up existing traditional orchards.
Pictured above are volunteers Chris, Irene and Andy planting new perry pear trees in Stamps Orchard, Colwall. The perry pear tree variety pictured is Stony Way (syn. Stoneyway, Stonyway) and is believed to have originated at a property called Stony Way near The Winnings at Colwall. According to Charles Martell's book the Pears of Gloucestershire and Perry Pears of the Three Counties this variety is 'critically rare' so we are delighted to have been able to get recently grafted stock from Lodge Farm Trees, and to see this tree planted locally again.
In all 10 trees went into Stamps Orchard this week including two of the Stony Way, three Worcester Black pears and five Shropshire Prune damsons.
We were also very grateful for help from the owners of Stamps Orchard to get this to happen, and from the team at Malvern Hills AONB who provided the funding.
Over the coming weeks we will continue the TOFI project elsewhere and hope to get close to 70 new fruit and nut trees planted in traditional orchards locally during the winter season.
Mistletoe Fair Musings...
At the risk of becoming boring we just have to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who helped and supported us once again at the annual Mistletoe Fair, held outside our local shop - Provisions of Colwall - on Saturday 5th December.
With the rain still present at 7am we had feared the worst, but the skies cleared and we were blessed with favourable weather.
Our contactless card reader bore testament to a remarkably steady stream of customers over a four hour period. From the plethora of produce adorning our stall early on we ended the morning with only apple juice for sale. Our stocks of honey, jam, jelly and chutney were totally cleared out. Alongside our on-line shop sales this has been a vital source of revenue for us since several of our other income-generating events were cancelled.
Thank you to our regular customers who support us with incredible loyalty each year, and it was also great to meet and greet new people too.
We are very grateful to Stewart, Pam and their team for letting us setup outside their shop.
Surplus mistletoe was taken to Peter at Peter's Fruit and Veg where proceeds will go to another charity making this very much a joint community effort for Colwall.
You can also find our locally harvested mistletoe at Coddington Xmas Trees where, once again, mistletoe sales there benefit charitable causes.
MISTLETOE HARVEST 2020
Mistletoe harvesting
Mistletoe harvesting
Mistletoe harvesting
Our volunteers Andrew and Jilly were out this week in a local, privately owned orchard harvesting mistletoe from veteran fruit trees.
We are fortunate to live in an area well-known for its mistletoe, but left unchecked it damages trees and may cause them to be more susceptible to storm damage.
Some skilful work liberating the mistletoe fro
Our volunteers Andrew and Jilly were out this week in a local, privately owned orchard harvesting mistletoe from veteran fruit trees.
We are fortunate to live in an area well-known for its mistletoe, but left unchecked it damages trees and may cause them to be more susceptible to storm damage.
Some skilful work liberating the mistletoe from the trees with loppers and pole saws is part of the annual orchard management regime.
Easy pickings
Mistletoe harvesting
Mistletoe harvesting
Jilly is carrying a single bunch of mistletoe and demonstrates how large and bulky individual bunches can be.
The mistletoe is present all year round but in the winter, with no leaves in the tree, its size and extent becomes more visible.
Thanks to Freda, the orchard owner, for permission to do some harvesting from her land this year.
Bumper crop
Mistletoe harvesting
Bumper crop
Andrew loads up the mistletoe onto the Malvern Hills Car Club pickup.
We will be selling mistletoe, alongside our jams, juice, chutney, jelly and honey at our annual Mistletoe Fair.
This is being held - 9am to 1pm - outside Colwall Provisions (Walwyn Road, Colwall) on Saturday 5th December. Please come along if you can.
Can't make it? You
Andrew loads up the mistletoe onto the Malvern Hills Car Club pickup.
We will be selling mistletoe, alongside our jams, juice, chutney, jelly and honey at our annual Mistletoe Fair.
This is being held - 9am to 1pm - outside Colwall Provisions (Walwyn Road, Colwall) on Saturday 5th December. Please come along if you can.
Can't make it? You can buy most of our produce on line via our Shop on this website.
The new bridge at Lugg's Mill Orchard IS OPEN!
We're delighted to report that after many dozens of hours of hard work by Laurence (pictured - foreground) and Deb (pictured -in yellow coat), but also involving input from many of our other volunteers, that the new bridge at Lugg's Mill Orchard is OPEN FOR USE.
This now allows a circular pedestrian route around Lugg's Mill orchard and provides the second of two crossing points over the stream that divides the site. You are welcome to use the bridge as part of your visit to Lugg's Mill orchard in Old Church Road, Colwall.
It has been a major piece of work for us as a voluntary organisation, and we are very grateful to everyone who kindly donated money towards the cost of materials through our online crowd-funding appeal.
We celebrated the opening of the bridge with a low key, and socially distanced ceremony, with a short vote of thanks by Lindsay, our Chair, and a presentation to Deb (project manager) of a framed photo montage to record the bridge building works.
Urban Orchards
One of our members has just brought this piece in the Guardian newspaper to our attention.
It's a reminder of how orchards are as beneficial to people and nature whether they are in London, or Ledbury, so we shouldn't think that fruit trees and orchards are only relevant in rural areas.
You can see the article at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/23/how-an-orchard-renaissance-could-bring-nature-back-to-uk-cities
Apple juicing with Colwall C of E Primary School
We are very grateful to receive this account from Colwall C of E Primary School of their recent visit to us to do an apple juicing session.
This is definitely one of our favourite annual activities of the year and it's fabulous to have the children, their teachers and adult helpers coming to Colwall Village Garden and getting hands-on with the process of juicing apples.
With thanks to everyone at the school, especially to teachers Caroline and Tracey. We look forward to repeating this again next year.
On The Radio!
Our media campaign to celebrate Apple Week took an unexpected turn recently as BBC Hereford and Worcester radio contacted us to do a feature celebrating Apple Day (21st October).
Rising to the challenge our Secretary, Wendy, did an early evening chat with Kate Justice which was live on air just after 7pm on Wednesday 21st October.
You can listen to the interview with BBC Hereford and Worcester using the Download button below. The discussion ranged around the origins of Apple Day, our themes for Apple Week and the state of this year's apple harvest.
More on Apple Week at our events page at https://colwallorchardgroup.org/events
An Orchard Visitor
It's not just birds and people who are making the most of this year's bumper crop of apples. Here in Colwall there's a significant population of muntjac deer who are also enjoying the autumn bounty.
These shy and elusive creatures are usually only seen rarely at dawn or dusk, or make their presence known by the characteristic barking sound that they make whilst hidden away in quiet corners of large gardens or secluded woodland. However, the temptation of sweet, abundant food has made them considerably bolder.
Twice within the past few days we've encountered muntjac during the daytime in one of our favourite traditional orchards - Stamps Orchard on the public footpath between Mathon Road and Old Church Road in Colwall. On the first occasion there was just a solitary deer, but on the second the word had got round, and it was a pair making a visit...
This is just another timely reminder of the wildlife value of traditional orchards, and how they continue to add interest and variety to our own daily experiences.
A recommended new book
As the nights slowly start to draw in, and we become more inclined to seek more time indoors, now seems an opportune time to bring your attention to a new book.
Orchard - A Year in England's Eden, written by Benedict Macdonald and Nicholas Gates, is a truly enlightening and entertaining read. It describes the story of the apple and the development of orchards, and then focusses on the nature and wildlife of a Herefordshire site comprising traditional mixed fruit orchards, over the course of a calendar year.
For us, here in Colwall this has especial resonance since the old farm and orchards that are the subject of the book (kept anonymous at the request of the current owners) are to be found only a handful of miles from our village.
So this is definitely a book to look out for, and which will provide anyone with 'orchardy' tendencies with many hours of pleasure and delight, and which serves as a timely reminder of the value and importance of traditional orchards to us all.
Highly recommended!
Tree Ordering Service 2020
From now until the end of October we are running our annual tree ordering service.
We gather together requests from individuals and collate orders for which we get trade discount which we share with you, whilst raising a modest amount of income for our funds.
We can source and supply
· Fruit trees such as apples, pears, plums, damsons, gages, apricots, cherries, quince in a variety of different forms and rootstocks.
· Nut trees such as hazel and walnut.
· Ornamental trees for your garden, for example - acers, liquidambers, magnolias, ornamental cherries.
· Native trees and hedging plants, for example - oak, beech, hawthorn, blackthorn.
· Fruit bushes such as raspberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries, redcurrants, whitecurrants together with other garden/allotment favourites such as rhubarb.
Trees and fruit bushes will come either as container grown (usually more expensive) or bare root (usually better value).The traditional time for planting is from November to March when it’s an ideal opportunity to get new plants in the ground so long as it is neither frozen nor waterlogged.
We order mostly through Frank P Matthews - Trees for Life (https://www.frankpmatthews.com/), or Walcot Organic Nursery (https://walcotnursery.co.uk/) so have a look at their websites to get some inspiration and an idea of what is on offer. If you have something in mind that you can’t see on those websites please let us know and we can make further enquiries. We are also happy to have a chat with you if you would like some advice about what to plant.
You can send your requests or enquiries now, and through to the end of October, by email to secretary@colwallorchardgroup.org.
Our terms are payment upon receipt of goods, and we will do our best to get the trees delivered for you to collect from Colwall Village Garden, in Old Church Road, Colwall in December.
For large orders we may be able to arrange local delivery for a modest sum.
HARVESTING AT THE FIRS (EDWARD ELGAR's BIRTHPLACE)
Something a bit special...
Something a bit special...
Something a bit special...
Andy was on top of the world this week. Ok, in reality, just a ladder...!
Nevertheless this week was something a bit special for us with an invitation, via Malvern Hills AONB, to help the National Trust (NT) with picking a bumper fruit harvest at The Firs (Edward Elgar's birthplace), near Worcester.
Dawne Middleton, the National Trust's gardener for the site, introduced us to some lovely fruit trees, originally planted circa 2000, and now fruiting well under her expert care.
A good year for apples
Something a bit special...
Something a bit special...
We enjoyed a very quiet couple of hours in lovely surroundings, (the property is currently closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic), and picked 16 bale arm crates worth of fruit.
The apples will be used by Colwall Orchard Group to produce fruit juice for sale to help us with our work to restore, promote and celebrate traditional orchards, and any surplus will be donated to local Food Banks.
So this has been a very mutually beneficial visit and it's great to see such a fantastic top fruit crop this year.
Les pommes de terre
Okay, so for the purists amongst you we concede that these aren't apples but are instead a representative selection of potatoes all grown by one plotholder on his allotment plot at Colwall Village Garden this year. It's been a superb growing year for our allotments generally and despite the challenges of the weather we've had some bumper crops.
We had suggested to John earlier in the year that it might be worth growing potatoes to help clear the ground of weeds on his newly acquired plot. He took our advice on board and his allotment has simply been characterised by a plethora of potatoes, and is a joy to behold!
We are used to some fantastic names for apples but it has been an education to us that potatoes have such a rich culture of naming too.
Pictured above are a selection of varieties including Yetholm Gypsy, Red Emmalie, Kerr's Pink, Shetland Black and Arran Victory.
A Kingfisher at Lugg's Mill Orchard...
We are delighted to report the sighting of a Kingfisher at our Lugg's Mill Orchard on a bright, sunny day at the end of August. A jewel-like flash of blue flying low above the stream in a South-North direction initially brought the bird to our attention. Then the Kingfisher perched on a fence to watch the water just near the site entrance onto Old Church Road before it continued flying over the road. A rare treat indeed!
We have always thought that this quiet orchard site, with a deeply incised stream with good tree cover of alder, ash and field maple, is ideal Kingfisher territory so this is a welcome and exciting occasion.
Have you also seen this bird at Lugg's Mill Orchard? We'd love to hear of other sightings so please contact us at members@colwallorchardgroup.org
Lugg's Mill Bridge Works Continue...
Work on the new footbridge over the stream at our Lugg's Mill Orchard continues apace with Deb and the mini-digger arriving on site to create a graded approach to the bridge from the West side.
In the foreground Bob and Kath are hard at it with some hands-on manual labour, whilst in the background Andy and Alan look pensively on, clearly wondering where they'd left their spades (which they usually use to lean on...).
Webmaster note - A big THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed to our crowd funding appeal for money for this bridge. We've already had a fantastic response, but would still welcome further donations. Please see www.colwallorchardgroup.org/support-us