All this musing about worlds and grains of sand lately actually goes back to a discussion I had with Jeremy a few days back about whether or not it was worth nibbling a little piece on the apple fair which will take place this Sunday in the Millennium Orchard at Beverley Parks Nature Reserve in Long Lane, somewhere in East Yorkshire.
More than 40 varieties of apple are growing on more than 100 trees in East Riding Council’s 50-acre countryside attraction.
Unusual East Yorkshire varieties include the Hornsea Herring and Fillingham Pippin, which was found only in the Swanland area.
The council’s countryside access officers and members of the East Yorkshire Federation of Women’s Institutes (WI) joined forces to develop the orchard as a millennium project.
Worthy enough, but too parochial, Jeremy said. (Although he did in fact relent in the end.) And he’s quite right. English apples, for all their diversity, are not going to save the world like ones from Kazakhstan just might. And East Riding Council is hardly at the forefront of agricultural biodiversity conservation science. Fair enough. But I wonder if the Talgar Pomological Gardens in Kazakhstan and the Garrygalla Research Center in Turkmenistan might not have something to learn from the humble efforts of the East Yorkshire Federation of Women’s Institutes.
And vice versa, of course.
Yes indeed, and great to see so many apple varieties in one small place. Since we are discussing apples I was reminded of the national fruit collection at Brogdale and was wondering if anyone had any news on its fate. I was speaking to someone at the IUCN meeting who mentioned that the University of Reading had put in a bid and won! but that parts (duplicates!) of the collection had gone elsewhere. There was also some mention of plans to ‘repatriate’ accessions back to community orchards. Anyone with further information?