Abundance Wimbledon

About Us

Abundance Wimbledon is a project to use up fruit that would otherwise go to waste.

We do this by bringing people together to pick surplus fruit growing in gardens and public spaces in the Wimbledon area. The fruit is shared out for people to eat and make into a wonderful range of jams, chutneys, cakes and sweets. We also pass some of it on to local good causes supporting people struggling to pay for food. People from different backgrounds are happy to work together, to share their skills and ideas, appreciate nature and being in the open air, and enjoy the whole experience of helping out. All sorts of people from Wimbledon, Merton and beyond have helped out, older people have come fruit picking, collected jam jars and made jam, and children have joined in enthusiastically too.

We have an event in September each year to sell produce, showcase what can be done with fruit and to encourage people to look after their fruit trees and make the most of the fruit.

: Photos
: Our Activities

We start off in July with picking a few cherries and mirabelle plums, then go on to pick plums, damsons, blackberries and lots of apples and pears. Some also find more unusual fruits to gather such as elderberries, rosehips, quinces, rowan berries, medlars and even a few kiwis. Most of the picking is done over August and September - we aim to have teams of people picking across areas in Merton. Our areas are supported by area coordinators who coordinate the picks and donations:
Martin Way Allotments
Morden and Mitcham
Motspur Park
Raynes Park
Wimbledon
Wimbledon Park
We have a 'feet on the ground' policy for picking fruit - see 'The Fruit Picker's Pledge'. So we use fruit-pickers - basically a long pole with a bag on the end. Or else, we use a large tarpaulin and shake the fruit down. The fruit is then weighed and the owner of the tree and the pickers are offered a share. The rest is given to local charitable groups providing free food to those in need or making produce for our annual Fruit Day. Any remaining fruit is given to anyone who can use it.
The overriding objective is that the fruit gets used!