On 5th March 2016 we successfully completed phase 1 of the Southall Orchard Project. The Mayor of Ealing, Cllr Harbhajan Kaur Dheer returned to unveil a new ‘interpretation board’. We were also joined by the Mayor’s consort and Deputy Leader of Ealing Council, Cllr Ranjit Dheer, Varendra Sharma, MP for Ealing Southall, Dr Onkar Sahota, GLA member for Ealing and Hillingdon and Cllr Swarn Kang
In addition to help from the Ealing Park Rangers and the Tree Council, we were again joined by Southall Community Alliance for this final stage of planting. The real stars however were the many local people who came from all over Southall and nearby towns. Luckily the damp weather did not dampen the mood of those who attended and actually had great fun working together in an outdoor setting. It was particularly uplifting to see so many young and elderly people showing the way, in how communities can look after their towns and environments.
Susan Wyatt, Community Champions Coordinator at Ealing Council runs the ‘Tree Warden’ scheme for the borough. She said “there was a lot of camaraderie and fun to be had in just a few hours” and “what a legacy to leave to future generations!”.
As a result of every ones efforts, Southall Park now boasts 44 fruit/nut trees and over 2000 fruiting hedges of various varieties. We now look forward to seeing the community benefit when it becomes time to harvest.
southalltransition.org 