Abundance Wimbledon Newsletter
August 16, 2022
WELCOME TO ABUNDANCE WIMBLEDON - 16th AUGUST, 2022 NEWSLETTER
August is well and truly here! Time to get the poles, the baskets, the scales. Time to roll up those sleeves and get picking! This year has seen an abundance of apples, pears, damsons, blackberries, even apricots (!) grow in and around the local area - plenty to keep our Abundance Wimbledon Fruit Pickers busy. From now until September, we will be collecting vast amounts of unwanted fruit in our aim to reduce food waste, help local charities and connect our local Community. The fruit that is not donated directly to charitable organizations and food banks post-Pick, goes into making delicious treats for sale at Fruit Day (17th September). Read on for the latest goings-on in the world of Abundance Wimbledon.
FRUIT DAY UPDATE
Time is drawing nearer to our 12th Annual Fruit Day! For those that are new to our Big Event, you will find stalls aplenty with homemade sweet treats (made using the unwanted fruit collected by our volunteers), local honey, fun activities, competitions and crafts for all ages, live music, a raffle, stalls from local sustainability groups, etc. In short, we have all the ingredients to make it great day out for all!
What’s more, we are delighted to confirm that this year we will be joined by Forty Acre Forest and their coffee bike. This independent mobile coffee shop originated in Colliers Wood in 2021 and this year started roasting and blending its very own beans. How fantastic to have a local company join our event.
Below are the details for our Fruit Day - make sure they are in your diary!
Abundance Wimbledon, 12th Annual Fruit Day
SATURDAY 17 SEPTEMBER, 2022
11.00am - 2.30pm
St Mark's Church Hall & Grounds
St Mark's Pl, Wimbledon, London SW19 7ND
JAM MASTERCLASS, PART III
Following two very successful Jam Masterclasses in May, our chief jam-maker Sue, with the help of fellow jam connoisseurs Di and Robin, held her third Jam Masterclass on 10th August. Thanks to the salvaged fruit picked by our wonderful group of Fruit Pickers, Sue and her team were able to teach 5 new students the art of jam-making using the freshest of ingredients, and all from our local area! By the end of the session, all 5 students had learnt how to make three different types of delicious jam, including Abundance Wimbledon’s signature delight - Somerset Jam - which among other flavours and fruit combinations, will be available for purchase at our Fruit Day event. A big Thank You to Sue, Di and Robin for giving up their time and imparting their skills and wisdom. Thanks to them, 17 new jam-makers are in our midst in the local community, who will hopefully put their new knowledge to good use and in turn pass it on to others!
BLACKBERRY WOES? READ ON…
Blackberries are in abundance all over Merton - near railway lines and stations, parks, gardens, alleys - they tend to grow anywhere! That’s the good news. The bad is that most appear to be suffering from fruit fly larvae which look like little white worms, the size of a pin head. This appears to be a universal phenomenon BUT, THERE IS A SOLUTION. Instead of being put off and discarding these absolutely delicious and very versatile berries (excellent for jam making, pie making, in smoothies, etc) note that firstly, these larvae are not dangerous, and secondly, that they can be eliminated with…a LEMON! Simply wash them in water with lemon juice to kill them off. Also, if you plan to cook your blackberries, the heat will get rid of any stragglers that may have evaded the powers of the lemon juice. Problem solved. Now on to enjoy those blackberries in their abundance!
PICKS APLENTY
Thanks to our Fruit Donors and to our fabulous team of Fruit Pickers, we have been able to salvage 280kgs on unwanted fruit within the Merton area thus far. Of this, over 134kgs have been donated to such local charities as Sustainable Merton’s Community Fridge, Faith in Action, Merton & Morten Guild, the YMCA and Hall Place Temporary Accommodation. Much of the rest has gone into making various tasty treats for Fruit Day. In terms of what has been collected so far, we have a good range of fruits and even the odd vegetable:
105kgs Apples (eating)
96.6kgs Apples (cooking)
5.2kgs Blackberries
4.5kgs Blackcurrants
3.2kgs Marrows
29kgs Pears
32kgs Plums
5.1kgs Rhubarb
Not a bad haul for just two weeks of picking! A BIG THANK YOU to all those involved in our Fruit Picks - from donors, to Pickers, to those helping transport such vast quantities to charities and to our jam-makers - what a team effort!
CORDIAL & JAM GALORE
As well as coordinating the Jam Masterclass this month, Sue and her team of sweet condiment and cordial makers have been busy making batch upon batch of jams, cordials and chutneys using the locally picked fruit. So far, 131 jars of jam, 66 jars of chutney and 68 bottles of various cordials have been lovingly made, and will be lining our stalls on Fruit Day, ready for you to buy and enjoy.
EXCESS OF FRUIT?
IS YOUR FRUIT OUT OF REACH? DO YOU HAVE MORE THAN YOU CAN HANDLE? DO YOU DREAD A SEA OF HALF ROTTEN APPLES/ PEARS/ DAMSONS IN YOUR GARDEN COME THE END OF THE SUMMER?
If the answer to the any of the above is a big 'YES', don't panic, we are here to help! Our team of enthusiastic Fruit Pickers will be more than happy to come to you and pick that hard to reach fruit, as well as find a home for any unwanted produce that is collected.
Simply email us at abundancewimbledon@gmail.com confirming your location and contact details and we will put you in touch with your local area coordinator.
OUR NEXT NEWSLETTER
We will be back in touch soon!
Feel free to send any news to our media editor, Cristina, at cristina.hv.aw@gmail.com.
** To get in touch about any of the above, please just reply to this email **
Best wishes and sincere thanks from us all
Juliet and the team at Abundance Wimbledon
August is well and truly here! Time to get the poles, the baskets, the scales. Time to roll up those sleeves and get picking! This year has seen an abundance of apples, pears, damsons, blackberries, even apricots (!) grow in and around the local area - plenty to keep our Abundance Wimbledon Fruit Pickers busy. From now until September, we will be collecting vast amounts of unwanted fruit in our aim to reduce food waste, help local charities and connect our local Community. The fruit that is not donated directly to charitable organizations and food banks post-Pick, goes into making delicious treats for sale at Fruit Day (17th September). Read on for the latest goings-on in the world of Abundance Wimbledon.
- FRUIT DAY UPDATE
- JAM MASTERCLASS, PART III
- BLACKBERRY WOES? READ ON…
- PICKS APLENTY
- CORDIAL & JAM GALORE
- EXCESS OF FRUIT?
- IS YOUR FRUIT OUT OF REACH? DO YOU HAVE MORE THAN YOU CAN HANDLE? DO YOU DREAD A SEA OF HALF ROTTEN APPLES/ PEARS/ DAMSONS IN YOUR GARDEN COME THE END OF THE SUMMER?
- OUR NEXT NEWSLETTER
FRUIT DAY UPDATE
Time is drawing nearer to our 12th Annual Fruit Day! For those that are new to our Big Event, you will find stalls aplenty with homemade sweet treats (made using the unwanted fruit collected by our volunteers), local honey, fun activities, competitions and crafts for all ages, live music, a raffle, stalls from local sustainability groups, etc. In short, we have all the ingredients to make it great day out for all!
What’s more, we are delighted to confirm that this year we will be joined by Forty Acre Forest and their coffee bike. This independent mobile coffee shop originated in Colliers Wood in 2021 and this year started roasting and blending its very own beans. How fantastic to have a local company join our event.
Below are the details for our Fruit Day - make sure they are in your diary!
Abundance Wimbledon, 12th Annual Fruit Day
SATURDAY 17 SEPTEMBER, 2022
11.00am - 2.30pm
St Mark's Church Hall & Grounds
St Mark's Pl, Wimbledon, London SW19 7ND
JAM MASTERCLASS, PART III
Following two very successful Jam Masterclasses in May, our chief jam-maker Sue, with the help of fellow jam connoisseurs Di and Robin, held her third Jam Masterclass on 10th August. Thanks to the salvaged fruit picked by our wonderful group of Fruit Pickers, Sue and her team were able to teach 5 new students the art of jam-making using the freshest of ingredients, and all from our local area! By the end of the session, all 5 students had learnt how to make three different types of delicious jam, including Abundance Wimbledon’s signature delight - Somerset Jam - which among other flavours and fruit combinations, will be available for purchase at our Fruit Day event. A big Thank You to Sue, Di and Robin for giving up their time and imparting their skills and wisdom. Thanks to them, 17 new jam-makers are in our midst in the local community, who will hopefully put their new knowledge to good use and in turn pass it on to others!
BLACKBERRY WOES? READ ON…
Blackberries are in abundance all over Merton - near railway lines and stations, parks, gardens, alleys - they tend to grow anywhere! That’s the good news. The bad is that most appear to be suffering from fruit fly larvae which look like little white worms, the size of a pin head. This appears to be a universal phenomenon BUT, THERE IS A SOLUTION. Instead of being put off and discarding these absolutely delicious and very versatile berries (excellent for jam making, pie making, in smoothies, etc) note that firstly, these larvae are not dangerous, and secondly, that they can be eliminated with…a LEMON! Simply wash them in water with lemon juice to kill them off. Also, if you plan to cook your blackberries, the heat will get rid of any stragglers that may have evaded the powers of the lemon juice. Problem solved. Now on to enjoy those blackberries in their abundance!
PICKS APLENTY
Thanks to our Fruit Donors and to our fabulous team of Fruit Pickers, we have been able to salvage 280kgs on unwanted fruit within the Merton area thus far. Of this, over 134kgs have been donated to such local charities as Sustainable Merton’s Community Fridge, Faith in Action, Merton & Morten Guild, the YMCA and Hall Place Temporary Accommodation. Much of the rest has gone into making various tasty treats for Fruit Day. In terms of what has been collected so far, we have a good range of fruits and even the odd vegetable:
105kgs Apples (eating)
96.6kgs Apples (cooking)
5.2kgs Blackberries
4.5kgs Blackcurrants
3.2kgs Marrows
29kgs Pears
32kgs Plums
5.1kgs Rhubarb
Not a bad haul for just two weeks of picking! A BIG THANK YOU to all those involved in our Fruit Picks - from donors, to Pickers, to those helping transport such vast quantities to charities and to our jam-makers - what a team effort!
CORDIAL & JAM GALORE
As well as coordinating the Jam Masterclass this month, Sue and her team of sweet condiment and cordial makers have been busy making batch upon batch of jams, cordials and chutneys using the locally picked fruit. So far, 131 jars of jam, 66 jars of chutney and 68 bottles of various cordials have been lovingly made, and will be lining our stalls on Fruit Day, ready for you to buy and enjoy.
EXCESS OF FRUIT?
IS YOUR FRUIT OUT OF REACH? DO YOU HAVE MORE THAN YOU CAN HANDLE? DO YOU DREAD A SEA OF HALF ROTTEN APPLES/ PEARS/ DAMSONS IN YOUR GARDEN COME THE END OF THE SUMMER?
If the answer to the any of the above is a big 'YES', don't panic, we are here to help! Our team of enthusiastic Fruit Pickers will be more than happy to come to you and pick that hard to reach fruit, as well as find a home for any unwanted produce that is collected.
Simply email us at abundancewimbledon@gmail.com confirming your location and contact details and we will put you in touch with your local area coordinator.
OUR NEXT NEWSLETTER
We will be back in touch soon!
Feel free to send any news to our media editor, Cristina, at cristina.hv.aw@gmail.com.
** To get in touch about any of the above, please just reply to this email **
Best wishes and sincere thanks from us all
Juliet and the team at Abundance Wimbledon
