THERE was much excitement in Pollok this week, as a new project took root.
Alongside apple dooking and apple juicing, there were apple-themed arts and crafts, tree-planting and theatre, all in honour of the area’s first community orchard.
Children from St Marnock’s Primary School were right at the heart of the action, and for P5 pupil Lilly, it was all about planting and pals - and pink.
“We’ve been talking about apples, and it’s made me think more nature which I love, as you can explore about animals and I love animals,” she explained.
“My favourite is a flamingo because they’re pink and my favourite apple is a pink lady.”
As part of Pollok Grows Together, eco-friendly theatre company Eco Drama planted trees with Lilly and Sean and their classmates Habiba, Mark, Krithika and Sai as part of the official opening of Pollok Community Orchard.
On a green space across from the community centre, the St Marnock’s Primary team officially cut the ribbon to declare the orchard open and performed a play to entertain families who popped in for the planting day.
With the help of Glasgow’s ‘Appletreeman’, Andrew Lear, who runs a business growing Scottish heritage fruit trees, the children also took part in some digging and planting.
The event was the culmination of a five-week programme led by drama artist Roisin McLinden, which encouraged children to connect with nature.
Eco Drama's Pollok Grows Together Project is a two-year initiative to create a vibrant, shared green space for Pollok residents. It is part of the company’s wider Forgotten Orchard Project, which has already planted 171 heritage apple trees and created 43 school and community orchards throughout Greater Glasgow.
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Over the last 70 years, the number of orchards has significantly declined as small-scale fruit farming has decreased, leading to a loss of biodiverse habitats for wildlife.
Orchards play an important role in helping the environment thrive, provide a local food source for the community and help preserve heritage apple varieties at risk of being lost, including those unique to Scotland, such as the Clydeside, Bloody Ploughman and Tam Montgomery.
Emily Reid, artistic director of Eco Drama, said: “Through the arts, environmental education and horticulture, the Pollok Grows Together project has engaged and inspired community members of all ages about our rich orchard heritage in Scotland, discovering what we can all do to enjoy delicious, home-grown fruit, while improving our local environment.”
Suzanne Prak-Sandilands, the company’s schools and communities project manager, added: “We’re delighted to be working with schools across Glasgow and Scotland - we can’t wait to watch the latest trees grow and produce an abundance of fruit.”
The young pupils are excited about that too, they said, and when asked what their hopes were for the future of the orchard, they were thoughtful.
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“There are all different kinds of apples, which helps the environment, so an orchard can help people with free food because if you go to a shop it can be expensive but you can come here and pick apples for free,” said Lilly.
“This project has made me more careful about the environment,” said Sean.
“I hope the trees are still around when I’m older.”
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