Saturday, October 14 saw the Rye Community Garden’s 2nd annual apple pressing event held outside Jempson’s in Rye.
The aims of the event was to use apples, collected from orchards in Iden and Beckley and from private gardens, that would otherwise go to waste and to increase public awareness of the Rye Community Garden and its vision.
The scene outside Jempson’s was a hive of activity with a group of volunteers involved in all stages of the process. Some washed and quartered the apples which were then mashed either in a hand or a mechanical scratter after which the pulp was pressed and strained to obtain the juice. The leftover pulp was kept to one side to be put in the community garden compost.
The day was a great success with many stopping to watch, join in or collect some fresh apple juice.
Dena Smith Ellis, one of the organisers said:
“We estimate that we produced at least 60 litres of freshly pressed apple juice on Saturday, and we gave out over 100 paper cup samples to the public. We offered to fill up personal and recycled containers with juice for takeaway, either for free or on a donation basis. Everyone who took juice ended up either offering us money or their time and effort in helping or, in some cases, both. The Rye Community Garden (RCG) made about £120 in donations and engaged many volunteers in the processing of the apples (washing, chopping, grinding, and pressing) including a group of four foreign exchange students from Germany and Italy who volunteered an hour of their time to help out.
“Overall, we are thrilled with the turnout, especially since we had stiff competition for attendance due to the 70th National Town Criers Competition! We’d like to thank everyone who made this day possible, especially Jempson’s for the venue, the Hythe Environmental Group for use of the apple pressing equipment, and our tireless and dedicated volunteers and members of RCG.”
The RCG aims “to promote well-being through inspiring, educating and empowering our community in food production, wildlife preservation and climate change resilience”.
Dena explains: “Our vision is ‘to provide opportunities in the Rye area to cultivate a well-fed and WISE. community.’ WISE. is an acronym that represents four out of our five values: wellbeing, integrity, sustainability, and education. Our fifth value is community.”
The garden is looked after by local people, who volunteer to plant and tend fruit and vegetables, and then the harvest can be enjoyed by all. The garden is also becoming a haven for wildlife, such as birds, bees and butterflies.
The RCG has regular year-round gardening sessions on Saturdays from 10am 12 noon at the Rye Community Garden at the end of Love Lane and the public are welcome. No work is required although help is always appreciated!
https://www.transitionrye.org.uk/community-garden/
Image Credits: Heidi Foster , Juliet Duff .