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School House Lane Orchard

Strong community spirit has transformed a much unloved former school playground tucked away in South Teddington into a green space that all can now enjoy.

Resident Jane Harnden explains in this short piece how School House Lane Orchard was handed over to the Council when the school closed but became dilapidated over the years. In 2006 a group of passionate neighbours formed the Friends of School House Lane Orchard then started the transformation process after receiving a grant from Awards For All.

Since these humble beginnings the land has been cleared, benches added, ‘dead-hedges’ installed (see video for explanation!) and many trees planted so that the area lives up to its name more in the future. The group are also aiming to help address the issue of disappearing orchards over the UK which is showing little signs of slowing down due to the high pressures of home-building to alleviate the housing shortage.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5Uxroiq9oU&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0]
Feature by Alan Benns.

If you want to help maintain this island of tranquillity then you can join in with monthly practical work mornings which occur on the first Saturday of each month. If physical work isn’t your cup of tea then you can still help protect this orchard by becoming a member of the Friends for £5 a year.

There will also be a summer party here on Saturday the 24th of July with stalls, refreshments, live music and children’s games – a perfect way to enjoy the charming environment that all the hard work has gone into creating.

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