New orchards offer life to wild species
https://climatenewsnetwork.net/new-orchards-offer-life-to-wild-species/
New orchards offer life to wild species
May 8th, 2019, by Paul Brown
While many of the UKs traditional orchards are vanishing, new orchards are being planted to help wildlife and to slow global warming.
LONDON, 8 May, 2019 − New orchards are appearing across the UK to stop the widespread decline of rare insects and birds, and to slow down climate change.
The National Trust, Britains largest conservation organisation, which owns hundreds of miles of coastline as well as country houses and farms, already looks after 200 orchards, but is to create another 68 across England by 2025 to try to halt a national decline.
There are still 25,350 hectares (62,650 acres) of orchards in the country − but that is
63% less than in 1950. Many are commercial monocultures. As a result, many rare types of apple are in danger of being lost and plum, pear and damson production is in decline.
Apart from saving endangered species of fruit from old orchards, the Trust is keen to preserve the bees that thrive on the springtime blossom and many other rare species of insect that live only on fruit trees. Unlike commercial growers, the Trust will be managing its new orchards without pesticides, and specifically for wildlife.