UPDATE (September 2024): IT'S A WRAP! After 6 years serving the community at the Orchard, Friends of the Orchard gives notice that we will be dissolving our organisation. FOTO has done its job, and we are proud of the positive aims it has achieved. 

We have worked over the years to secure the future for the Orchard public space in what was once a time of great uncertainty, and importantly we managed to safeguard the play area through our campaigns. We supported a partnership bringing in new management of the site, and trust that after six years this secure management is now well in hand. 

The Orchard remains a cherished community asset, enjoyed for its beauty, wildlife, local history and recreational value, thanks in considerable part to these community efforts. Our year-after-year top-category awards from Bath in Bloom and the Royal Horticultural Society are recognition of the quality of Friends of the Orchard's community participation, environmental responsibility and gardening achievement. Our Apple Days, Wassails, picnics, horticultural days, bake sales, community map and more have brought joy to many people, and made us closer as a community. Our initiatives with wildlife and ecological management have made us greener. 

So, we bid a fond farewell, with grateful thanks for everyone's support and contributions, particularly our hard-working volunteers! Adieu! 🍎