Many of the 370 visitors collected the subsidised fruit trees they had purchased and then enjoyed free demonstrations on how to plant and prune their trees, from Phil Paulo. The aim of the event was to encourage more people to plant trees, which not only locks up carbon from the atmosphere – it can result in a legacy of increased biodiversity, wildlife protection, shade provision and flood mitigation – helping to make us more resilient to future challenges.

Local tree wardens and representatives of Petersfield Society Green Infrastructure Group were on hand to offer advice, along with spokespeople from The Forestry Commission. Local craftspeople displayed nature-inspired ceramics and weaver Linda Bingham hosted two very popular willow workshops for beginners. Petersfield Area Lichen Enthusiasts were on hand to help identify lichens and share expertise about this wonderful microscopic world.

The Community Garden became a fantastic space for families, allowing children to explore nature by creating fairy gardens, making leaf rubbings, creating shapes from beans and seeds, and planting. There were even homemade refreshments on offer. All activities were offered free of charge. Attendees said that they thoroughly enjoyed the event, were thankful to PeCAN for the community contribution, and promised to focus on caring for their trees.

In total, 1,200 fruit trees were distributed via PeCAN’s project this season, with a further 100 supplied by Petersfield Town Council. This means that, over the past five years the project has been running, PeCAN and collaborators have distributed more than 3,000 trees! 40 volunteers generously supported this event.

If you attended the Festival PeCAN would love to have your feedback! Please fill in the short survey here.

You can register your interest in fruit trees on the PeCAN website to receive notifications about the project next winter, here.