LiveWest invited residents and North Tawton Nature and Sustainability group to celebrate the success of the Community Orchard and new carved community bench by helping to create bee-friendly planters.
We also organised cupcakes and games to celebrate this project. This was part of a project instigated by local residents to look at making the green space next to Barkers Way in North Tawton more community-friendly for residents .
This now includes 15 fruit trees planted by local families, maintaining an area as meadow grass, putting up bird boxes and now creating bee-friendly herb planters. This project connects local communities to their environment increasing connection and wellbeing.
Volunteers' Week takes place 1-7 June every year. As we acknowledge Volunteers’ Week, an initiative designed to say thank you for the contribution of millions of volunteers across the UK, residents in North Tawton have been making use of a community green space they helped make more usable for them to come together and enjoy as well as more biodiverse for the area they live in.
Alison Knight, our Community Connector, said: “I am delighted to be involved in this project, seeing the local families get involved, these ideas come to fruition. This event creating the community planters was the icing on the cake. I am also thankful to North Tawton Nature and Sustainability who are looking after the trees and the planters.”
LiveWest owns the field and has funded £2,400 towards the Community Orchard at Barkers Way, including the mature trees, bird boxes, signage, planters and plants.
Resident Mark Kennedy, who is also part of the North Tawton Nature and Sustainability, came up with the idea of having the orchard and has been part of looking after the trees.
Mark Kennedy said: “I really appreciate the support that LiveWest have given us, and it is fantastic to see the other residents coming out and getting involved in creating this wonderful space. Families visit the space to let their children run around and we are seeing older residents go an sit in the space with a cup of tea or book to unwind after a day at work.”
Ruth Testa, one of the founders of North Tawton Nature and Sustainability, said: “We are happy to help make this project happen and make green spaces more biodiverse. We already have a bird nesting in the bird box and some pears on the pear trees.”
Residents have used the community space to hold events including a Wassail earlier this year. The families, and especially the children, enjoyed planting herbs, playing with hula hoops and running around the space in what was a very successful community day.
Going forward, they will be looking after the plants and growing meadow grass so it will continue to be a great space for people to use.
