TRADITIONAL orchards are a fantastic haven for wildlife, but since the 1950s, this type of habitat has disappeared by 90 per cent in England, with nearly half of those remaining in poor condition.

A range of new, free resources launched this month by People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) aims to stem the decline in traditional orchards by providing orchard owners with practical advice and support, and encouraging people to plant and buy native fruit varieties.

Resources on offer from PTES include: orchard management advice and skills development, a fruit variety database and grant funding totalling £15,000 for tree planting.

PTES has created a series of practical guides, to encourage orchard owners to manage their orchards in a way that is sympathetic to wildlife and that helps improves their condition, covering everything from pruning and grafting fruit trees to grass management.

There are thousands of fruit varieties, many with geographical associations such as the Blenheim Orange which originates from Woodstock, near the stately home in Oxfordshire, or the Worcester Permain which dates back to 1873.

PTES is developing a digital record of fruit varieties which will complement the Brogdale National Fruit Collection in Kent.

The searchable online database will be available in spring 2016. PTES is also working with private owners and organisations, in particular The National Trust, to increase the distribution of rare varieties by assisting them to plant local cultivars in their orchards.

Veteran fruit trees with dead and decaying wood are an important source of food and nesting sites, particularly for insects such as the rare noble chafer beetle, but the long-term conservation of remaining traditional orchards requires trees at all stages of growth.

So while PTES encourages people to leave deadwood and decaying trees in orchards to benefit wildlife, it is also providing small grants to individuals or community groups to help them plant new trees on their sites and halt further deterioration in condition. These trees will ensure the continuation of this habitat for decades to come.

PTES orchards officer Megan Gimber said: “We consulted with more than 900 orchard owners about their needs and how we can support them in improving the condition of their orchards, and we have developed these resources with their requirements in mind.

By helping people to improve the condition of their orchards, we are also helping the wildlife that depends upon these special sites, such as bees and butterflies which are in decline. Furthermore, we are also helping to preserve rare fruit varieties, traditions, customs and knowledge.”

In 2011, PTES produced the first habitat inventory of traditional orchards for 51 counties in England, followed by an inventory for 22 counties in Wales published in 2013.

Condition assessments were carried out by hundreds of volunteers on around 20 per cent of the 43,000 mapped orchards, and 45 per cent of the orchards in England and 35 per cent in Wales were found to be in declining condition. In contrast, less than 10 per cent of orchards were rated as excellent in each country.

The root causes for the decline in the scale and quality of traditional orchards are neglect, the intensification of agriculture, cheaper fruit and nut imports, and development.

Written guides and video tutorials, as well as grant application forms, are available online at www.ptes.org/orchards.