My growing fruit tree experience

About me and why growing is important to me as a Muslim.

My name is Toqueer Ahmad Quyyam and I am a eco campaigner with over 8 years experience today I'll be sharing my experience of volunteer session that I had with the fruit and nut village in Balsall Heath. Last autumn 2024 it was a really real eye opener it was my first hand experience,I had actually helping out planting fruit trees I was involved in this helping with the with digging and making sure that the weed and everything else was not there and clearing the site in general making sure that everything was clean and tidy and it really pleasant experience I learned a lot a few interesting facts I can share with the community number one I learned that normally this is a good time in automotive winter to go and plant fruit trees and ready for the spring with climate change change.

For me, Fruit & Nut Village in Balsall Heath is a way to rethink how local food systems, webs of non-human life and convivial relationships among us can work better together. As communities and as a species, we urgently need to learn to meet our needs whilst regenerating with the ecologies that enfold us. Local and national governments do little to counter the extractive economic models that dominate how we live, how our lands are used and cities run, so we must cultivate, preserve and value that which the balance sheets of late capitalism do not and cannot account for. We’re experimentally seeding the common grounds of Balsall Heath with diversity to counter the unquestioned consensus that green space in the city should be mowed monochrome by default. What we do is about holding space for conversation, interaction, welcome and mutual respect as much as it is about learning together how Reaside Forest Garden or Spark Green Park Orchard will grow. The planting, pruning, propagating, pouring tea are all acts infused with hope, and we hope the fruits of this labour of love outlast these often hopeless times.

Quote from Dan, lead at Fruit and Nut village

My personal journey being involved in fruit tree planting.

What was really interesting was the fact that local people who involved there was a group of five or six hours and it was really interesting to see the different kind of fruit trees that were grown on there left to a park and so that the politic thing about this is that the community will see this now and hopefully that that will take an interest in them another thing that I want to mention is really important close to me is the fact that as somebody who lives in Hockley and what will amazing was attending part of benjamin Zahaniah, fruit tree planting, there where 65 fruit trees were planted and it will great to see the local relatives community coming together and local schools and young people were also there and you know it's something that they would remember and for the rest of their lives and also be part of something quite special . Especially rememberable people will be able to benefit from the free tree soul bird soul nature and you know in colon condition all you have in added which are very much required and I think it's a show that giving people support an opportunities and they're what can be achieved somebody who could previous experience was with the Grand union gallery I've learned a bit about the different plants it will take an interesting plans but really didn't have that confidence and I think what I've learned that from experience a person can gain confidence by sometimes just you know just watching and learning from what asking questions all the interesting fact you know did you know that there's probably hundreds of different variations of apple and you know apple is something which is you know grows really well and in the UK and another interesting fact which I don't know anyone knows which I think it's really important is that tomato and it's not native to the UK and it's very much a mediterranean fruit but it was cultivated in the UK so it just showed you that things are always changing and with the climate getting warmer I think the seasons of planting are changing another example which I like to share to the community is Melrose Avenue and with the work of retrofit bolt lead and they've

Melrose avenue: Balsall Heath: lifting the slap initiative

Been able to put in fruit trees in front of people garden and they had a campaign which was amazing to see just an interest and I think confidence for initially wasn't interested always reason not to do it and we all came that bad yet through relationships and understanding people and there were some session by birmingham through fruit and nut village. They kindly donated the trees, there was a almond tree about half of the household had at least one tree, there where different trees for each household. It would fantastic and also interesting is that living in the same street is an expert on Moths, who goes to Spain during the summer and he you know he knows so many things about Moths and he has a beautiful large tree in his garden.

Hearts and minds, the togetherness of a street and sense of Community.

I would predominantly was the only one and you know the community of come together there's new friendships that have developed in the middle Avenue so this is just an example of what can happen and this is just something that I my vision is that you know all of Birmingham and you know they should be more trees especially in Inner City Birmingham you definitely see actually in South Birmingham but you definitely see the disparity of tree cover and with heat waves coming and the risk of flooding in the future I think trees play such an important role and also reducing a carbon emission from thatmosphere which is good for the climber responded more we can do for me my hope is that more must take an interest there's such a large car parking space on there is actually having leadership to have those conversations to say okay can we read a few slabs at the most to plant some trees or can we have a space or planters where people can claw the fruit and vegetables and just to stop people off there many people who come from the Who have linkes back to their indigenous homelands and who would love to be able to grow food, probably have time on their hand or retired or look to be able to have that opportunity where they are where they live to be able to grow fruit trees and not everybody has space where they live at home where they have a garden or whatever in people circumstances are.

The role of the Mosque and a vision of a forest garden

Mosques are so much more than places for prayer, there are community center and there's so many different activities from youth work and to warm space is this how much more that can be done and there's a time to be visionary it's a time to be ambitious you know and anything in line with Islamic faith and if I can kindly share a couple of hadiths with you where you know you sow a seed s a sadaka there's hadith were and when the Masgid Medina was was built and progress aProphet Muhammd may Allah peace and bleseeings be upon him, used to recite the Quran next to the tree, the tree cried, knowing the prophet was leaving.

In Conclusion, we must all do our bit, its part of our iman as Muslims, i encourage fellow brothes and sisters to get involved in volunteering and learning about orchids and fruit tree planting, its amazing and well worth the experience.