Few men have royal approval to raid a prince’s orchard but Barney Wilczak does. Four or five times every autumn, the former conservation photographer can pick as many apples as he wants from the private orchard and apple bank at the edge of HRH The Prince of Wales’ Highgrove estate, in Gloucestershire. The collection comprises some of the UK’s oldest and rarest apple varieties, including a sapling from the apple tree in Sir Isaac Newton’s garden at Woolsthorpe Manor, in Lincolnshire. Wilczak, a recycling proponent, takes his spoils back to the timber and Cotswold-stone lean-to greenhouse of the family home in Stratten, near Tetbury, where, with the help of his partner, Hannah, and two Czech stills, he presses and ferments them to make heritage fruit brandy: the authentically British Capreolus Distillery Eau de Vie. “I was put in touch with David Wilson, who farms Duchy Home Farm; he is a specialist in the preservation of heirloom crops,” explains Wilczak. “It was only then that I discovered what they were growing and what a wonderful resource it was. They were keen to work locally and my background parallels so much of what they are trying to achieve in terms of sustainability.”
The Duchy of Cornwall bought the 1,000-acre Highgrove estate in 1980 from Maurice Macmillan. The farm became organic in 1985 and the orchard was added in 2015. “The main reason the orchard was planted was as a gene bank for genetic conservation, which is a theme Prince Charles regards as one of the central strands of sustainability,” explains Wilson. “We depend on fewer genes than ever for our food, due to the control of breeding programmes by global companies. This theme extends to rare-breed livestock and old varieties of cereal, as well as vegetables.”
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Strength in Numbers -The success of Britain's growing band of Farmer Clusters shows the value in working together and engaging with the public in the name of conservation, says Gabriel Stone
In a world that leans into gloomy headlines, it's important to wave the flag for a refreshing success story. That's especially the case when it comes to our overburdened farming sector and the wider way in which we manage the landscape. Yes, we: everyone can play a role, not least through one inspirational initiative. Ever since a 2013 pilot project by the GWCT in association with Natural England, Farmer Clusters have mushroomed across Britain. Led by farmers with guidance from expert advisers, today's network of about 125 clusters encourages a cohesively managed, locally tailored, larger-scale approach to conservation work.
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