Village Apple Day will celebrate region's autumn bounty and raise awareness of local orchard

An Apple Day – to celebrate autumn’s bounty and raise awareness of a village orchard – is taking place in Balfron later this month.

Visitors to the orchard can take part in apple pressing, adopt a tree and put their culinary skills to the test in an apple baking contest.

Organised by Balfron Community Orchard volunteers, the Apple Day will also provide information on pruning, biodiversity, and highlight the impact of climate change on the green space situated near Weaver’s Winnel.

The community event on Saturday, October 19, from 11am-3pm, comes two days before National Apple Day on Monday, October 21, which celebrates the wide range of apple varieties and their heritage.

The Balfron event is being supported by a Climate Action Hub seed grant from Forth Environment Link, in partnership with Balfron Community Council.

Visitors to the orchard are asked to bring their own apples for pressing, and containers to take their juice home. A small donation of £1 upwards will allow people to adopt one of the 60-plus apple, pear, cherry and plum trees on the site.

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Amateur bakers are being urged to rustle up their best apple-inspired cakes and pies for a baking contest and there will also be apple identification for anyone struggling to name a particular variety. Just bring along two examples of fruit with the stalk still attached.

The orchard was planted by Stirling Council between 2013 and 2015 and was initially cared for by a group of neighbours keen to ensure the harvest be used for community good. The fruits of their labours can now be found donated to Balfron’s Phone Box Food Exchange which helps reduce food waste.

The small group of volunteers are now looking for more villagers to join them in caring for the orchard and increasing its fruit production.

The Balfron group are also supported by volunteers from different villages in the area, inspired by a common love of apples. The apple press has been donated for use to involve communities and revive orchards across Stirlingshire.

A Balfron Community Orchard spokesperson said: “Over the past few years it has become clear that the orchard requires more expert care, especially in tree management and biodiversity, to reach its full potential.

“The community members are now focused on restoring the orchard to a state of abundant food production, aiming to establish it as a sustainable, local food source for the whole village.’’

As well as making the orchard a fun and engaging learning resource for the community, the volunteers are keen to enhance biodiversity at the site by planting wildflowers.

They also hope events like the Apple Day will help foster a deeper connection between locals and their environment.

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