Residents at Rotherlea care home in Petworth were joined by pupils from Petworth Primary School to help them plant a community orchard.

Rotherlea hosted an “apple themed” day where different generations joined together to learn about different types of apples and how to plant trees.  They also baked apple crumbles and apple pies to mark the occasion.

Community Liaison Manager at Rotherlea, Ian-James Delves, said, “We have been campaigning for some time for a piece of land to plant their orchard after funding for the project was granted by the Action in Rural Sussex charity which is setting  up several orchards in Sussex with help and expertise of the Brighton Permaculture Trust”.

The home decided to plant the trees in their own grounds following months of no sign of a suitable site.

Rotherlea also have a community vegetable garden in the grounds where school children visit each week to learn gardening skills with the residents.  Once the fruit and vegetables have grown, the children and residents will learn how to cook and preserve the produce they have grown together.