WEEKLY COLUMN by Stroud MP Dr Simon Opher

Apple Days and Apple Juicing Days have become a regular part of village life in many places, part of a resurgent interest in local produce and biodiversity.

This weekend I was lucky enough to spend some time in Berkeley with the Stroud Valleys Project and others, chopping, scratting (!) and pressing some of the varieties that are local to the area.

Although only the crab apple is actually indigenous to the UK, apples actually feel very English indeed.

There is a long history, since they were introduced in the early medieval period (possibly earlier), of extremely local varieties.

Many were named after the villages in which they grew.

There is a very rare Berkeley Pippin (I don’t think we had any of these on Saturday), Arlingham Schoolboys (there was one of these right by where we were), and Norman’s Pippins, all local to the area around Arlingham and Berkeley.

Every farm would have had their own orchard, and many houses and villages too.

Often you can see the remains of these in the corners of fields across the district, or simply one or two trees in a hedgerow or back garden. These are the remains of the small-scale farms that were normal here until modern intensive farming changed our landscape for ever.

There is, thank goodness, a renewed interest in local apples and an increased understanding of how important they are for our biodiversity.

Traditional orchards contain an incredible range of species, from mosses and lichens, through to funghi, insects, birds and animals. Apple trees tend to age more quickly than other types of tree, and so are home to an incredibly diverse range of species. Even the grasses beneath the trees are an important and unique habitat.

It struck me that there was a special significance to a community coming together to press apples that had been gathered locally, with different generations working to produce juice or cider. In one way it’s a long way from Parliamentary legislation

 But this week I am co-sponsoring the Climate and Nature Bill, and the link between the two feels very clear to me.

‘Local’ is sometimes used in a disparaging way, but I think we should celebrate it.

To me it means community and tradition, things which are, sadly, in rather short supply these days.

So a big thank you to everyone organising Apple Days locally this year – and go along if you can.

Apple Day is traditionally celebrated on 21st October.