‘A bold experiment’: Horfield Organic Community Orchard’s Fruitful Futures Project

Volunteer Hannah Shepherd spoke to Shannon Smith – aka the Apple Tree Lady – at Horfield Organic Community Orchard to hear about the new ‘Fruitful Futures’ project, which asks big questions about climate, engagement and resilience. 

When I arrive at Horfield Organic Community Orchard (HOCO), the members are finishing their Roots, Shoots & Fruits course, where they are learning how to care for fruit trees over a growing season. There is early blossom on trees, laughter and plenty of questions directed at Shannon, otherwise known as the ‘Apple Tree Lady’. 

Once the course is wrapped up, Shannon and I sit beneath one of the orchard’s original trees – the twisting ‘Jim Little’. Historically, the field was used as a paddock for the local funeral director’s horses. ‘What did people feed horses? Apples! Shannon explains. ‘The reason we have these trees is because someone in the past tasted this fruit and thought it was worth continuing. There’s a real coexistence between fruit trees and people that goes back thousands of years.’  

HOCO is determined to secure a resilient future for the orchard and has launched the Fruitful Futures project to explore what that might look like. Described by Shannon as a ‘bold experiment’, the community action project is seeking new solutions to the orchard’s evolving environmental and social challenges. ‘We want to ask some questions about how we raise fruit trees in the future’. 

Tackling the climate challenges head-on 

A combination of increasingly early blossoms, late frosts and shifting pollinator patterns are wreaking havoc on orchards across the world. Despite long being aware of climate breakdown, Shannon has been surprised at how deeply climate change is affecting HOCO. ‘We are seeing extremes of heat, flood and drought – and they can all happen within the same year. That’s really stressful, not just for the trees, but for us.’ 

During growing seasons there has not been enough rainwater to meet the needs of the trees. ‘They need about 2-3cm of water available to the roots every week, which they use partly for nourishment but also to keep themselves cool.’ In worst-case scenarios, the leaves die but more commonly the trees cast off the fruit, impacting the fruiting buds for the following season. ‘We’ve been hand watering trees [on and off] since 2018, which is completely crazy!’ 

The wide diversity in varieties is in itself protective, but HOCO has also tried interventions such as mulching and a tree-buddy system, in which members are matched with trees to manage.

The Fruitful Futures project hopes to attract new skills and fresh ideas. ‘We would love someone to help with the care of the trees but it may also be someone that has other skills to help us find a way forward for the future’.  

Connecting with the orchard 

HOCO’s tree-buddy initiative is a practical way of ensuring members build a connection with the orchard, ‘it isn’t as easy as planting a tree. In order for them to succeed we need to be more in relation with them’.

So, I ask, what is it about fruit trees that connects with Shannon? ‘I think trees are kindred spirits. They are not people but they do have a lifespan that is similar to ours. Each variety has a different character and the circumstances under which they grow up informs what they are like as mature beings… They have an interesting “tree” energy,’ she laughs, ‘because they are both rooted in the ground but also up in the clouds with a horizon view.’  

As well as looking at soil, diversity and the HOCO habitat, the project will explore knowledge-sharing and the social changes that have impacted community engagement. For Shannon, ‘it’s not just about how we grow trees in a way that protects them best. But trying to listen to, and work out, what it is that allows people to connect with this place and what we do. There are so many more questions we can ask ourselves!’ 

To find out more about HOCO and how you can get involved with their Fruitful Futures project, go to community-orchard.org.uk.

Keep an eye on the Bristol Good Food event listings for future workshops at Horfield Organic Community Garden, including Fruitful Futures: A Climate Resilience Action Project on Saturdays 14 June; 13 September; 8 November and 7 February (2026), as well as Pruning Fruit Trees: A Seasonal Introduction For Beginners on Saturday 2 August and Pruning Fruit Trees: A Sharpener For Improvers on Sunday 3 August.