- The fruit trees planted in St Ives Community Orchard were originally part of Penwith Edible Forest, a community project created by Stephanie Hirtenstein and Dylan Keating of PEN (Penwith Environmental Network), funded through a local food grant. Half the trees had been planted at Love Lane Wildlife Garden in Penzance, where they remain today. The rest were planted at Castlegate, but when Dylan moved to the States, the new owner no longer wanted the trees and a new location was needed.
- Members of the Steeple Woodland group suggested the land alongside Palemon Best Recreation Ground as a possible new home for the trees.
- Gavin Nicol and Tim Andrewes were instrumental in securing the donation and organising the trees’ move to the current Community Orchard site, with the backing of St Ives Town Council and the Palemon Best Trust.
- Rupert Manley had been in discussions with Penwith District Council and St Ives Town Council since 2008 about protecting and planting trees on the land, helping to lay the foundations for the project.
- Gavin Nicol from Steeple Woodland, Stephanie Hirtenstein from PEN, Rachael Young from Cornwall Council and Dan Richardson from Duchy College began clearing parts of the site in preparation for planting.
- There were three community planting days in February 2013, with approximately 25 people taking part.
- Before the planting, an evening of community involvement was held with more than 20 people attending. The oldest participant was in her eighties and shared memories of orchards on the Fire Station site, just below the play park. The youngest was just two years old.
- Rachael Young arranged two days of spring volunteering with students from Exeter University’s Tremough campus, who helped with the project.
- 26 November 2013: The first project meeting was held at The Croft pub, attended by Rachael Young, Kim Nicol, Josh Quick, Polly Carter, Tim Andrewes and Rupert Manley. Land ownership was discussed, including Cornwall Council and the Palemon Best Trust, along with options for how the project could be managed. These included PEN acting as an umbrella organisation, Steeple Woodland fulfilling this role, or forming a new group with its own bank account, constitution and committee.
- It was agreed that Penwith Environmental Network would oversee the project, with support from the Steeple Woodland group .
Initial planting of trees in 2013.
2013 planting day
2013
2013
