Do you know about Blossom Day? It’s been held, for the past few years, on a Sunday in late April or very early May, at Jeacock’s Orchard on Cow Lane. It’s the venue for the Autumn Apple Day. It’s also the home of Martin Hicks, local wildlife expert, scythe-wielder, musician, Morris dancer and even ‘Green Man’, as well as a loyal friend to many in our community.

The Justice & Peace Group in Tring have often picked Martin’s brains and sought his expertise when considering how to work with nature to best effect, or the line to take when campaigning for a pollinator-friendly environment. (We were able to make Tring a Bee-Friendly Town, with his help.)

On Sunday 3 May this year, Justice & Peace Group had a stall at Blossom Day, raising funds and talking to people about the importance of buying Fairtrade goods. Our stall was chocolate-themed and family-friendly. The chocolate – both Fairtrade and non-Fairtrade – was all donated by the local M&S and Co-op stores. All were welcome to taste-test the different chocolates (Fairtrade was preferred by most visitors), while small children enjoyed creating their own ‘chocolates’ with our light and dark brown playdough. In addition, we had two picture quizzes. One was about the animals that pollinate our favourite foodstuffs and the other had pictures of products like bananas, coffee and cocoa which visitors had to match with pictures of the plants they came from. We also had a plant stall, with plants we’d propagated or sown at home, to raise money from donations for our work.

Alongside us were people from Sustainable Tring talking to people about solar power, while some artistic volunteers were encouraging children to dress up and take part in a musical celebration of how the Sun helps things grow. Of course, the Sun also gives us an incentive to be outdoors growing food and flowers, for our own benefit and for other creatures around us.

We were kept very busy all day. People were very interested to find out about the high quality of goods and the many benefits there are for farmers, growers and craft workers when we buy Fairtrade. Many people did not realise that they can buy Fairtrade at the supermarket, and they went away determined to look for the Fairtrade logo on the goods they buy. Many children knew about Fairtrade from hearing about it at school and they had often told their parents about buying Fairtrade bananas, avocados, tea and coffee. A number, though, were surprised to hear that Fairtrade sugar is commonly available and that it’s also possible to buy Fairtrade clothing, flowers and even gold.

The whole day was a marvellous celebration of being in a beautiful spot, surrounded by families enjoying simple pastimes, picnics, apple trees and togetherness. A highlight was seeing visitors of all ages joining in with dancing round the maypole.

If you missed Blossom Day this year, make a note to look out for it next Spring!