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Jo Shields Sustainability ManagerLoughborough University Anne-Marie CulhaneSustainability Campaigner & Artist

Eat your Campus - a project to develop Loughborough University as an edible landscape

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The Campus

Largest single site campus in the UK – more than 7,500 trees not including the 2 ancient woodlands.

75% of campus is green.

Some mature fruit trees already on site

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Campus at a glance

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Sustainability Strategic Implementation Plan

Committed to leading change in environmental sustainability, 4 key areas for priority action include:

Creating a demonstrator campus

Reducing our carbon footprint by 43% by 2020

Improving Space Utilisation

Changing Behaviour

Biodiversity is a Key Performance Indicator within the plan

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Biodiversity Action Plan

Published in 2010 after extensive ecological surveying and identifies how we are delivering in the following areas:

Environmental compliance - Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006

Community links and benefits

Opportunities to raise and widen the profile of the university

Linking with the Local BAP

Enhancing Biodiversity now for future generations

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Fitting into the strategy

The Fruit Route project contributes to the following KPI’s at LU:

Biodiversity

Sustainable Travel

Behaviour Change

Demonstrator Campus.

It also make a significant contribution to other strategic objectives around community engagement and corporate social responsibility.

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How the project evolved

In 2010 RADAR (LU contemporary arts programme) hosted Building Green which included a Market Garden and was a 6 month project. It offered a series of artistic events focused on sustainability and food production including an artist in residence, talks, workshops and demonstrations.

The lead artist for the Market Garden programme was Amy Franceschini, founder of the US collective Future Farmers.

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Art to ecology to food….

As part of this programme Anne-Marie Culhane came to do a talk and then proposed the Fruit Route as an idea

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The vision of Fruit Routes is to

Plant fruit and nut trees along cycle paths creating a spring snowfall of blossom and an autumnal abundance of fresh fruits for harvesting, eating and distributing by bike. Planted by people who live, work and pass through these places varieties of pears, plums, damsons, greengages, hazels, almonds, apples suited to each region and the changing climate, will provide an annual feast – a bounty of sweet, ripe fruit for years to come.

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Getting buy in…

Anne Marie brought with her experience of harvesting and distributing surplus fruit on a not for profit basis. Known for her work on the “Abundance” Project in Sheffield Anne Marie studied Loughborough based on the fruit it has to offer and proposed that a Fruit Route could work at LU.

Operationally introducing a fruit route does not always bring with it immediate support and buy in! Most people didn’t even realise the campus had fruit trees.

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Getting started with a bit of a sketch

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Landscape Master Plan

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Campus by bike…

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“The Shed”

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Stakeholder engagement…

An important part of this process is the engagement and design phase so that a large number of stakeholders are involved and the trees are planted and maintained by students, staff and the local community.

You need to create a “buzz” about the project. At LU we made sure key players were involved and on board from the start. As well as key operational groups we included students, staff, environmental champions, community, design school, corporate relations, press and PR, grounds and gardens.

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The Flyer

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Project Implementation…

ScheduleSummer 2011 – design phase

Autumn 2011 – engagement, research, harvesting, celebration

February 2012 – planting, celebration

May 2012 – Spring Walks

October 2012 – Harvest, celebration

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Ongoing Management

2013Pruning training

Additional Planting

Updated mapping

Celebration and Walks

As a legacy project LU is investigating the best way to protect something that could be here for the next 100 years.

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Resources

The project is resource heavy in the first year with campus liaison essential.

External project lead from Anne-Marie has been invaluable.

Years 2-3 begin to see more involvement from volunteers.

Investment has been around £20K (not including staff time).

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Challenges!

Finding an agreeable route that allows ongoing campus development.

Rugby boys peeing on young trees!

Allowing flexibility – to get the most out of the project we incorporated under planting of our hedgerows with foraging plants and whips.

Constant negotiation for space to expand the route.

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Nearly 2/3 of englands orchard area has been destroyed  - Common Ground 

 The most political act we do on a daily basis is to eat – Dr Jules Pretty Professor of Environment and Society, Essex University

 Average supermarket food travels 1400 miles  – Common Ground 

Some Context for Fruit Routes

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Context for my practice

We are living in a world of increasing uncertainty..

As an artist, I believe my role in these times is to be active in society to create ‘social sculpture’ (in the words of Joseph Beuys) – develop the role between personal creativity and social responsibility.

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Where Fruit Routes came from

Grow Sheffield

Abundance urban fruit harvesting project 2007

Orchard City Manifesto

Fruit Routes

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Who has the courage and vision to redefine their town/city/campus as an edible orchard landscape?

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Fruit Routes at Loughborough University

Fruit Routes is a rich habitat for people, plants, insects and animals as well as a locus for cultural activity and outdoor learning Fruit Routes is a way of reconnecting to our immediate environment by working with local food (harvesting from June to January), seasonality and a potential project lifespan of over 100 years. Its a way of remembering and celebrating our place in the greater ‘family of things’

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Initial stages

Establishing: Relationship with Landscaping and Gardening GroupRapport with Grounds staffTrust with Sustainability TeamProject Blog: www.fruitroutesloughborough.wordpress.comExciting launch events, visibility around Campus

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Planting The First Route

The first Fruit Route includes:

77 fruit trees (35 varieties) 300 whips and 25 fruit bushes planted on the first route Apricots, peaches, figs taking advantage of south facing microclimate on the Physics building Varieties chosen to be late fruiting or early fruiting to correspond with the academic calendarVarieties for cooking, eating, preserving, ciderSome local heritage varietiesSome experimental plantingPruning to take place in the second yearQuince already fruiting!

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Activities so far Apple pressing with local Transition group 

Guided foraging walks Walks and workshops with artists, ecologist and 

poets (BacktoBack)  Cider and fruit wine making workshops A flora and fauna feast Harvest festival with lantern making, bonfire and 

live music Promenade performance around the route  Temporary installations Hand made maps  Fruit Routes bike trailer Apple tagging across campus Games at Freshers Fair Harvesting trips Screenprinted thank-you packs Foraged food tastings Barefoot Blindfold dawn event 

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Who is involved?

Local community, students, postgrads, post-students teaching staff and facilities staff and their families, student groups, artists and performers, local groups such as Transition and the Local Council

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Areas of Curiosity

How much University land can be converted into edible landscapes and used by students, locals and on site catering? How can we work with young people to think about their food (and drink) sources differently and to consider healthy local food choices as well as cooking, home brewing? ie fresher’s fair.  How can we integrate Fruit Routes into the cultural calendar of the University as a cross-disciplinary educational resource ?  How can we use Fruit Routes to programme events and activities to inspire people to think differently about inhabiting living landscapes in which they live or work? 

How can we make sure that the Routes are respected and protected for years to come?

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Summary

Fruit Routes is about planting, biodiversity, local food culture and collaboration.

Its potential lies in the hands of the people who want to get involved - students, staff, local people and the University’s commitment to look after the trees.  My job is to plant and nurture the first seedlings, to create a sense of shared ownership and responsibility – to open up the possibilities…

Project blog: www.fruitroutesloughborough.wordpress.com Photos: Anne-Marie Culhane, Bob Levene & Pawas BishtThanks to : Paul Conneally, Miriam Keye and Martha Worsching

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If you don’t do anything else…

Your ‘aha’ moment

Develop good relationship with Landscape Team and Security Team, the Landscape and Gardening Group ie the people on the ground …(the caretaker!)

Think beyond the campus: Participants are a mix of local families and local residents, students, postgraduates, ex-students, university staff, university staff families, regional artists and performers and regional local food projects.

Love seeing freshers – new arrivals to the UK having their first view of Loughborough from up a fruit tree!

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We still (sometimes) remember that we cannot be free if our minds and voices are controlled by someone else. But we have neglected to understand that we cannot be free if our food and its sources are controlled by someone else. The condition of the passive consumer of food is not a democratic condition. One reason to eat responsibly is to live free.

- Wendell Berry

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Question 1

Have you ever picked or scrumped fruit?

Share your memory of this…

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Question 2

Where do you see the challenges and opportunities in your own institution for setting up a Fruit Route?

With the challenges, discuss in your group about ways you might be able to overcome them.