Here's your timetable for the day so you can start planning which talks you'd like to attend.

Read on for a summary of each talk and some background info on the speakers:

TITLE: Own Root Fruit Trees
SPEAKER: Paul Paine & Mark Simmonds

Building on the groundbreaking work of fruit pioneers Phil Corbett and Hugh Ermen, this workshop will explore the desirability, practicality and challenges of growing fruit trees, particularly apples, without using rootstocks. Paul and Mark will share their understanding of this fascinating topic, which will hopefully stimulate a lively discussion.

Paul Paine is a Permaculture educator who has recently taken on the site and legacy research of Phil Corbett’s Cool Temperate project near Nottingham, and is exploring ways to further develop the project involving the community.

Mark Simmonds runs Community Orchard Services, delivering training around pruning, grafting and cider-making  as well as establishing a new orchard in Calderdale West Yorkshire, including a cider orchard with traditional cider varieties growing on their own roots.

SPEAKERS: Steve Oram & Adam Cade
It's often difficult to get hold of the right rootstock for your grafting, and most rootstocks are imported from the Netherlands as standardised and virus-free. So why not be more self-reliant and sustainable and produce your own rootstocks? This workshop will discuss the issues of supply and plant health and introduce the pros and cons of four basic methods of production – seed sowing, hardwood cuttings, layering and stooling. There are also biodiversity and productivity arguments for allowing fruit trees to grow on their own roots.

Steve Oram is an orchard biodiversity specialist and consultant. His area of expertise is terrestrial priority habitats, with a particular focus on traditional orchards. As Orchard

Biodiversity Officer at People’s Trust for Endangered Species, his work involves GIS

mapping, scienceled research, habitat management, public engagement, and

advocacy through the planning system and government consultations.

Adam Cade is coordinator of the CORE Orchard European Project and Secretary of the Stamford Community Orchard Group.

SPEAKER: Stephen Watts
Greenest city in Europe?! Sheffield has a legacy of self-sufficiency going back to the pre-war era. The Abundance Project tapped into the established fruit trees dotted all over the city, in public and private spaces, joining up people from a range of backgrounds to harvest and distribute fruit that was going to waste. The inspiration that we found has sparked many other fruit initiatives around the country. We will reflect on where the seeds have landed and taken root.

Stephen Watts began growing in 2002 on the allotments in Sheffield and working alongside the Sheffield organic food initiative. He co-founded The Abundance Project with Anne-Marie Culhane in 2007 and now lives in Coed Hills in South Wales and manages the Ediculture charity, providing education around food culture and managing a small micro market garden. 

SPEAKER: Kingsley Ash
This talk traces the journey from turning a few spare apples into the first experimental batches, through planting a commercial orchard, to creating award winning ciders that combine traditional craft with modern techniques. It reflects on the patience and challenges involved in growing apples, the pivotal decisions that shaped the business, and how a small experiment evolved into a highly respected craft cider brand.

Kingsley Ash is the founder and cider maker behind Thornborough Cider, guided by the belief that great cider starts in the orchard. 

SPEAKER: Camilla Allen, Sheffield University
This talk will set out the motivation behind the edited volume The Politics of Street Trees (Routledge, 2022) and reflect on some of the lessons that can be drawn from the various essays. Reflecting on the book's beginnings as a response to Sheffield's street tree crisis of 2012-18, Camilla will frame the narratives and motivations that have led to street tree planting, discuss the place (or absence) or productive trees in our urban landscapes and invite reflections on the Street Tree Charter that the book closes with. 

Dr Camilla Allen is a lecturer in the School of Architecture and Landscape at the University of Sheffield. She teaches landscape history and theory and has a particular interest in trees and how they help us understand our relationship in and with the natural world. Camilla's doctorate was on the 'Man of the Trees', Richard St. Barbe Baker (1889-1982) who was an early innovator in the field of agroforestry and sustainable forestry. 

TITLE: A History of Sheffield Allotments
SPEAKER: Margaret Bolton
Margaret Bolton will share insights from her book on the 300 year history of allotments in Sheffield. The city's allotments have developed and survived through a period of intense industrialisation, two world wars, the unemployment of the 1930's, and the growth of the suburbs.

Margaret Bolton has had an allotment in Sheffield for 25 years.  She found in the 1990s evidence that steel workers had gardened the allotment site to include iron baths, home-made sheds and grinding stones. This gave her the idea of researching Sheffield's allotment history and self-publishing a book, 'A History of Allotments in Sheffield: 1700 to the present day.'  Prior to this she wrote her thesis on 'Gardens in Sheffield in the 1790s’.

FACILITATOR: Alan Thornton, Fruit Works Cooperative
Join Alan to discuss and develop plans for the future of Fruit Moot in 2027 and beyond.  We can’t wait to hear your ideas!

Alan Thornton gained ample experience in delivering community planting projects during his time as Project Manager at The Orchard Project and later as Community Tree Planting Manager at Bradford Environmental Action Trust. He has been propagating and growing fruit trees as a hobby for many years, locally earning himself the nickname ‘Alan Apple’. Through Fruit Works, Alan has transformed his hobby into his livelihood.

Join our panel of experts to hear the best way to set up a community orchard for long term sustainability. We will be hearing from Christine and Bruce about the process of setting up and maintaining Bradwell Community Orchard. Jacob will explore the challenges and solutions to the ongoing maintenance of community orchards for long term success. Lawrence will talk to us about a Birmingham-wide survey of community orchards carried out by Birmingham Tree People. Bring all your community orchard questions for a lively discussion. 

Christine Taylor and Bruce Norwell are director and treasurer of Bradwell Community Orchard. The orchard was planted in early 2011 with 40 different fruit trees, including old and local varieties of apples, pears and stone fruits. The local community and a variety of funders have been key supporters of the orchard. 

Jacob Davies is a member of the Sheffield City Council Community Forestry team, responsible for planning and delivering new tree planting on Sheffield parks and housing land.  In this role and previously, he has been involved in the creation and management of a number of public orchards in Sheffield and London. Jacob is currently working with Regather to develop a city-wide orchard volunteering group for Sheffield aiming to resolve some of the challenges around maintaining a consistent volunteer group, delivering good quality maintenance, and providing access/permissions for community groups working across public parks. He also really like fruit trees.

Lawrence Weston is a Director of Clent Hills Orchards CIC and a Trustee of Birmingham TreePeople. He studied Geography at the University of Birmingham before completing formal horticultural training with the Royal Horticultural Society at RHS Rosemoor, specialising in top-fruit production. His work focuses on community orchard development, sustainable food systems, and the long-term stewardship of fruit trees.

Want to improve your grafting or simply learn more about the process? Our panel of grafting experts will share their experiences, learning and top tips in this interactive panel discussion. Bring your questions and grafting gripes for discussion!

Gini Morandi is a member of Fruit Works, a small worker co-operative helping people in Leeds and the surrounding area grow more fruit. As Tree Nursery Co-ordinator, she is responsible for overseeing the grafting and growing of 1000 fruit trees a year on a small but productive 0.2 acre site. She has been propagating fruit trees for 5 years and is excited to be growing new varieties at the nursery this year, including walnut, mulberry and fig.

Jim Arbury has had a lifelong interest in horticulture in particular edible crops. Jim is responsible for the RHS Fruit naming service and carrying out a number of fruit naming days in the autumn. He had been employed by the RHS since 1982, primarily working with fruit and acting  as Fruit Superintendent from 1995 to 2008. He currently operates as a horticultural specialist which covers technical aspects of horticulture and includes instructing RHS students, staff and visitors. In his own time cultivates allotments and keeps bees.

Joe Lofthouse MHort (RHS) MCIHort began his horticultural career at a young age and has been associated with the Swinton Estate since 2008, alongside formal training at Askham Bryan College and a prestigious studentship at RHS Garden Harlow Carr. He is a member of the RHS Fruit, Vegetable and Herb Expert Group and is now looking forward to leading the Garden & Grounds team on the Swinton Estate.