Abundance Wimbledon Newsletter
June 7, 2022
WELCOME TO THE ABUNDANCE WIMBLEDON JUNE 2022 NEWSLETTER
We are delighted to confirm that preparations for our 12th Annual Fruit Day on Saturday, 17th September, 2022, are well underway! The Abundance Wimbledon Committee convened at the end of May to discuss our fantastic upcoming Community Event, and it looks set to be yet another fun-filled Fruit Day for all. For now, we have some exciting updates for you, our avid and loyal Abundance Wimbledon followers - enjoy!
JAM MASTERCLASS SUCCESS
Back due to popular demand was Sue's Jam-making Masterclass. Because of the high volume of requests, star jam-maker Sue kindly hosted TWO back to back sessions at the end of May, with the aid of fellow jam-maker professionals Di and Robin. What these ladies don't know about jam-making isn't worth knowing! The Masterclass sessions involved start to finish hands-on tuition on how to make 3x different delicious homemade jams: Apple & Blackberry, Rhubarb and Ginger, and Abundance Wimbledon's Fruit Day bestseller, Somerset Jam. Not only were the sessions highly informative, but they were also a great opportunity to meet others within our Community who share a passion for cooking, learning new skills, and a keen interest in reducing food waste by turning surplus fruit into something useful and highly scrumptious! Thanks to Sue, Di and Robin, we have a new cohort of budding jam-makers to help make even more delicious jam for our wonderful Fruit Day.
UKULELE ORCHESTRA CONFIRMED!
We are very excited to confirm that the International Ukulele Orchestra, led by Derek Lomas, will once again be joining us at this year's Fruit Day. Prepare to have your toes tapping to their wonderful feel-good tunes, as surely there is nothing more happy and fun than the care-free sounding ukulele. The International Ukulele Orchestra has been a close supporter of Abundance Wimbledon's Fruit Day since it first began in 2011, and it is always a joy and a pleasure to welcome them to our Event. We are sure that you will love them as much as we do!
2022 TREE PLANTING UPDATE
The absolute wonder that is nature! Little mini apples have been spotted on all three trees planted by Abundance Wimbledon in Colliers Wood Recreation Grounds in 2021 and in early February 2022. This is an excellent sign that these trees are happy in their location and are being well looked after by our friends at Colliers Wood Residents Association - Parks and Green Spaces. The other two trees planted this year by Abundance Wimbledon in Singleton Close and Morden Park have also been reported to be thriving in their new homes, and we hope to be picking their fruits in the future.
Thank you once again to our wonderful team of green-fingered volunteers who have helped with the Abundance Wimbledon Tree Planting Program over the years: Liz, Juliet, John, Jane and Bryony, among others - may the good work continue for many more years to come!
2022 CHARITABLE DONATIONS
In our previous newsletter we announced the distribution of Abundance Wimbledon's proceeds from the 2021 Fruit Day to 6x local charities (see here for more details). We are delighted to be making a further donation to the Merton Winter Night Shelter, raising our total donations this year to £2,100. We hope this contribution will help Merton Winter Night Shelter give the vital support they do to those most in need of it.
ABUNDANCE AT CANONS HOUSE & GROUNDS - JUNE 2022
Abundance Wimbledon has been invited to host a stand at Canons House & Grounds in Mitcham on Saturday, 18th June, 2022, 11am-4pm. This beautiful venue has teamed up with Sustainable Merton to hold a Summer Event focused on all things sustainable. As great advocates of sustainability, Abundance Wimbledon is delighted to be involved and to have the chance to promote its activities within the Community, alongside other like-minded Community Groups and businesses. Please pass the message on to friends, families and neighbours to come along and support the event - we hope to see you there!
For those that do not know about Canons House & Grounds, this is a true jewel in our local community. The house and grounds, dating back to the 1680s and now owned by Merton Council, were awarded funds from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund to restore the site to its former glory and open it up to the public for all to enjoy. Moreover, part of the restoration and repurposing project has involved creating a new Community Garden, designed for growing fruits and vegetables which can be shared with the local community. Visit the Sustainable Merton website for further updates on this phase of the restoration project.
CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS
We really are a lovely bunch, why not join our team of volunteers? There is a whole range of ways in which you can help Abundance Wimbledon, be it in the lead-up to Fruit Day by helping with our fruit-picking expeditions, as a jam/ chutney/ cordial/ cake maker, or as a stall holder on the Big Day itself! See below for the role that best suits your interests and get in touch:
**FRUIT PICKERS & JAM MAKERS GREATLY NEEDED**
Please contact Juliet if you wish to volunteer for any of the above: abundancewimbledon@gmail.com. We are most active in the months of June-mid September which is the ripening season for an array of fruit and vegetables.
WIMBLEDON PARK AREA COORDINATOR NEEDED
Yes, another volunteering opportunity, and a wonderfully varied one at that! We are currently looking for an Area Coordinator to cover the Wimbledon Park area.
We have a fantastic team of Area Coordinators, which as the title suggests, look after a particular area in Merton and coordinates the donations (from private gardens), picking and delivery of the fruit to both local charities and our team of jam & chutney makers.
The picking season typically runs from July to September, and the person taking on this role would have the support of our other Area Coordinators to show them the ropes.
If you are interested in volunteering for this role, please contact Juliet at abundancewimbledon@gmail.com.
SAVE THE DATE
Abundance Wimbledon 12th Annual Fruit Day
SATURDAY 17 SEPTEMBER, 2022
11.00am - 2.30pm
St Mark's Church Hall & Grounds, London SW19 7ND
OUR NEXT NEWSLETTER
We will be back in touch in early July (once picking starts).
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
We are delighted to confirm that preparations for our 12th Annual Fruit Day on Saturday, 17th September, 2022, are well underway! The Abundance Wimbledon Committee convened at the end of May to discuss our fantastic upcoming Community Event, and it looks set to be yet another fun-filled Fruit Day for all. For now, we have some exciting updates for you, our avid and loyal Abundance Wimbledon followers - enjoy!
- JAM MASTERCLASS SUCCESS
- UKULELE ORCHESTRA CONFIRMED!
- 2022 TREE PLANTING UPDATE
- 2022 CHARITABLE DONATIONS
- ABUNDANCE AT CANONS HOUSE & GROUNDS - JUNE 2022
- CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS
- WIMBLEDON PARK AREA COORDINATOR NEEDED
- SAVE THE DATE
- OUR NEXT NEWSLETTER
JAM MASTERCLASS SUCCESS
Back due to popular demand was Sue's Jam-making Masterclass. Because of the high volume of requests, star jam-maker Sue kindly hosted TWO back to back sessions at the end of May, with the aid of fellow jam-maker professionals Di and Robin. What these ladies don't know about jam-making isn't worth knowing! The Masterclass sessions involved start to finish hands-on tuition on how to make 3x different delicious homemade jams: Apple & Blackberry, Rhubarb and Ginger, and Abundance Wimbledon's Fruit Day bestseller, Somerset Jam. Not only were the sessions highly informative, but they were also a great opportunity to meet others within our Community who share a passion for cooking, learning new skills, and a keen interest in reducing food waste by turning surplus fruit into something useful and highly scrumptious! Thanks to Sue, Di and Robin, we have a new cohort of budding jam-makers to help make even more delicious jam for our wonderful Fruit Day.
UKULELE ORCHESTRA CONFIRMED!
We are very excited to confirm that the International Ukulele Orchestra, led by Derek Lomas, will once again be joining us at this year's Fruit Day. Prepare to have your toes tapping to their wonderful feel-good tunes, as surely there is nothing more happy and fun than the care-free sounding ukulele. The International Ukulele Orchestra has been a close supporter of Abundance Wimbledon's Fruit Day since it first began in 2011, and it is always a joy and a pleasure to welcome them to our Event. We are sure that you will love them as much as we do!
2022 TREE PLANTING UPDATE
The absolute wonder that is nature! Little mini apples have been spotted on all three trees planted by Abundance Wimbledon in Colliers Wood Recreation Grounds in 2021 and in early February 2022. This is an excellent sign that these trees are happy in their location and are being well looked after by our friends at Colliers Wood Residents Association - Parks and Green Spaces. The other two trees planted this year by Abundance Wimbledon in Singleton Close and Morden Park have also been reported to be thriving in their new homes, and we hope to be picking their fruits in the future.
Thank you once again to our wonderful team of green-fingered volunteers who have helped with the Abundance Wimbledon Tree Planting Program over the years: Liz, Juliet, John, Jane and Bryony, among others - may the good work continue for many more years to come!
2022 CHARITABLE DONATIONS
In our previous newsletter we announced the distribution of Abundance Wimbledon's proceeds from the 2021 Fruit Day to 6x local charities (see here for more details). We are delighted to be making a further donation to the Merton Winter Night Shelter, raising our total donations this year to £2,100. We hope this contribution will help Merton Winter Night Shelter give the vital support they do to those most in need of it.
ABUNDANCE AT CANONS HOUSE & GROUNDS - JUNE 2022
Abundance Wimbledon has been invited to host a stand at Canons House & Grounds in Mitcham on Saturday, 18th June, 2022, 11am-4pm. This beautiful venue has teamed up with Sustainable Merton to hold a Summer Event focused on all things sustainable. As great advocates of sustainability, Abundance Wimbledon is delighted to be involved and to have the chance to promote its activities within the Community, alongside other like-minded Community Groups and businesses. Please pass the message on to friends, families and neighbours to come along and support the event - we hope to see you there!
For those that do not know about Canons House & Grounds, this is a true jewel in our local community. The house and grounds, dating back to the 1680s and now owned by Merton Council, were awarded funds from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund to restore the site to its former glory and open it up to the public for all to enjoy. Moreover, part of the restoration and repurposing project has involved creating a new Community Garden, designed for growing fruits and vegetables which can be shared with the local community. Visit the Sustainable Merton website for further updates on this phase of the restoration project.
CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS
We really are a lovely bunch, why not join our team of volunteers? There is a whole range of ways in which you can help Abundance Wimbledon, be it in the lead-up to Fruit Day by helping with our fruit-picking expeditions, as a jam/ chutney/ cordial/ cake maker, or as a stall holder on the Big Day itself! See below for the role that best suits your interests and get in touch:
- Fruit Pickers (typically from July to September, often at fairly short notice)
- Jam, chutney, cordial and jelly makers
- Cake and pie makers
- Drivers (to hep ferry fruit picked to various local locations)
- Volunteers on Fruit Day (including stall holders, marshals, apple cutters and juicers, etc.)
**FRUIT PICKERS & JAM MAKERS GREATLY NEEDED**
Please contact Juliet if you wish to volunteer for any of the above: abundancewimbledon@gmail.com. We are most active in the months of June-mid September which is the ripening season for an array of fruit and vegetables.
WIMBLEDON PARK AREA COORDINATOR NEEDED
Yes, another volunteering opportunity, and a wonderfully varied one at that! We are currently looking for an Area Coordinator to cover the Wimbledon Park area.
We have a fantastic team of Area Coordinators, which as the title suggests, look after a particular area in Merton and coordinates the donations (from private gardens), picking and delivery of the fruit to both local charities and our team of jam & chutney makers.
The picking season typically runs from July to September, and the person taking on this role would have the support of our other Area Coordinators to show them the ropes.
If you are interested in volunteering for this role, please contact Juliet at abundancewimbledon@gmail.com.
SAVE THE DATE
Abundance Wimbledon 12th Annual Fruit Day
SATURDAY 17 SEPTEMBER, 2022
11.00am - 2.30pm
St Mark's Church Hall & Grounds, London SW19 7ND
OUR NEXT NEWSLETTER
We will be back in touch in early July (once picking starts).
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
