Celebrating 20 Years of BOSF: Tree Planting with Fruit & Nut Village in Druids Heath

Fruit & Nut Village is a grassroots charity bringing communities together through perennial food growing, creating sustainable orchards and food forests across Birmingham. Their work not only helps green our city but also strengthens community connections, supports biodiversity, and promotes local food resilience.

As part of our 20th-year celebrations, we’re excited to be teaming up with Fruit & Nut Village for a special tree planting event in Druids Heath this Wednesday 5th February from 10.30am at The Dell, Druids Heath ( What3Words location: moss.shiny.hill ).

Ahead of the event we caught up with founder, Rob Tilling, to learn more about the charity’s mission, their impact in Birmingham, and how people can get involved.

How did Fruit & Nut Village get started? What inspired you to create it, and how has it evolved?

We received a grant in 2018 to run a pilot project in Stirchley. The pandemic allowed for more volunteering and new connections, and the sites continued to be maintained. We initially focused on a smaller number of sites in one area, but soon received requests to expand. We are led by where interest arises. Selly Oak NNS initially asked us to work in Druids Heath. We’ve worked with small grants for a few years, and now we have a 3-year grant that we plan to build upon. We’ve been working in Druids Heath since 2021, then Balsall Heath from 2022. Now, we are looking at developing activities in at least two new areas of the city.

What projects have you been involved with in Druids Heath?

We have two large and very attractive forest gardens in Druids Heath: Druids Heath Green and Southern Drive Food Garden. We also have several orchards dotted around, such as at Britford Close near the three tower blocks, in Walkers Heath Park, at Manningford Hall, and on Pennyacre Road. We’ve worked hard to expand the variety and number of edible trees in the area. We work in Daisy Farm Park and, of course, in Monyhull as well. Fruit & Nut Village in Druids Heath has flexible boundaries.

What types of trees will be planted at the event, and how can the community get involved – both on the day and in the long term in Druids Heath?

The five types of trees we have for Wednesday are Hazel, Mulberry, Pear, Petit Noir, and Almond. We’ve already prepared the planting spaces, as that job can be quite a slog!

To get involved, simply turn up – tools will be provided! Keep an eye out for our future event flyers and follow us on social media. You can also visit our website to learn about all of our sessions, join our local WhatsApp group for reminders and updates (it’s announcement-only), call the contact number on a poster, or join our mailing list by emailing [email protected]

What challenges do you face in growing and maintaining community orchards, and how can people get involved and support your work in Birmingham?

We offer a variety of ways for people to support us:

• The physical work – digging, shearing, weeding, pruning, etc. There’s lots to learn.
• People bring cakes to share!
• Just joining us can mean being present and offering positivity and moral support.
• Litter picking alongside us.
• Helping us move materials and tools.
• Helping us source woodchip, which is an ongoing and difficult challenge.

Posted on 30th January 2025