Cloudforest One, Lahinch
The Orchard
Our trees are in the ground and growing happily. But we’re not done. On Cloudforest One, we want to develop the remaining areas into biodiverse habitats that will support the local pollinators and other insects.
This project is for phase one of our pollinator plan for our Cloudforest One site, to deliver an orchard and flowering meadow in the field behind the house, and to repair gaps in the hedgerow with beneficial tree and shrub species. The Orchard will also ‘bee’ home to our first Robo-Hive!
Progress so far
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Planting the apple trees
In November 2023, during our community day, we took the opportunity to plant 10 apple trees and 3 plum trees in our new orchard. These were a mixture of varieties selected to suit the growing conditions in this field.
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New tenants
Over winter, we lost one of our hives in another more exposed area of Cloudforest One. Rather than replace the hive in the same spot, we decided to set up the new hive in the orchard instead. The bees are moved and spend the first few days in this transport box. Their new permanent home will be installed over the next few days.