Reports, Research, Maps and Surveys of St Ives Orchard and Nature Reserve area

Click on the headings to read the reports.

Written by Steve Adams at Cornwall Environmental Consultants April 2021
Prepared as a founding document for the Local Nature Reserve declaration for the site

Prepared by Sue Hocking from the Cornwall Wildlife Trust – August 2019.
Penbeagle Hill, aprox 26 acres above the orchard that we lease from Cornwall Council fall under the County Wildlife Sites (CWSs) which are significant areas for wildlife in Cornwall. There are approximately 400 County Wildlife Sites in Cornwall covering around 10% of Cornwall’s land area.
This survey covers the Penbeagle Hill section of the CWS, in particular the area known as the ‘Nature Reserve’, but also includes fields to the north which are outside the CWS and the Community Orchard space.

Written by Zac Harris BSc Horticulture (Garden and Landscape Design) and Director: Gardens Of Eden. www.gardensofedenuk.com
He was looking particularly at food forests/edible forest gardens as a means to implement land restoration in inhabited/urban areas, to provide ecological ecosystem services as well as socioeconomic benefits with education and by providing food etc. He surveyed a variety of different places in Cornwall, taking soil samples and also measured the carbon content of these soil samples.

Written by Jake from //symbiosis-soillab.com/
Jake took samples from various areas in the Orchard and Nature Reserve, analysed then diagnosed the diversity of the soil microbial life. He wrote a report on his findings and then came to the orchard, gave a fascinating talk explaining this report and the huge importance and benefits of increasing the fungi, nematodes and micro-organisms in the soil. He then gave us guidelines and ways to improve the soil.

St Ives Community Orchard & Nature Reserve group initial survey & recommendations
Written by Patrick Saunders from Kernow Ecology
Requested on behalf of AONB Wheal Buzzy Project

Found by Melanie Frankell from the 1963 Ordnance Survey Map with added information told to her by Viv Stratton about their farming at Penbeagle from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Type in St Ives Community Orchard to find us. Direct link here
Click on ‘Baseline Maps’ top right of the page and you can choose to look at the Historical maps.
14 – Historial plans is particularly interesting as it shows how many orchards there were around town and shows how they even mapped trees in every garden. Aprox year of this map was 1878-1884

A few more maps:

Map showing where different crops and animals on the Penbeagle farm area between 1950 and 1980

Screenshot of County Wildlife site map

Map showing outline of our land