Orchards and the Environment

Written by Elizabeth Waugh
Published on November 1, 2025.

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Eric Buckmaster was the Environment Cabinet Member on the Hertfordshire County Council for four years. Though the last county elections in May, 2025 resulted in a minority Liberal Democrat administration, Eric continues to be the opposition spokesperson for the Environment and is still involved in discussion and decision making. Eric is also a long standing volunteer and committee member for the Rivers Heritage Site and Orchard group. The Orchard and its 300 year history is being celebrated this year. It has different roles for the community: it represents and educates resident about Sawbridgeworth’s rural past as well as offering social events such as Wassail and Apple Day; however, every day all year round it offers a natural open green space where wildlife and plants of all kinds flourish to anyone who cares to walk there. (See the article by Charmaine Cooper on our website in May). Below Eric discusses what ‘environment’ means in this context. It is interesting to read Eric’s remarks against the background of the long County Council report - ‘Sustainable Hertfordshire Strategy’ published in 2020. There the national and international awareness of the climate emergency is reflected in the sustainable practices being offered by County. Rivers Orchard is a real time local example of current environmental thinking.

Eric Buckmaster, responds to questions from Elizabeth Waugh.


Eric is standing on the roof of Hertfordshire County Hall with the newly installed solar panels in place.

In County government, what does the ‘Environment’ mean? Is the main focus on developing and according to current principles sustaining, diversifying and creating green space? Or is the Council concern with Environment in a different sense?

The Environment is a broad concept. In 2019, along with many other councils, Hertfordshire County Council declared a ‘Climate Emergency’. For us it commenced the concept of ‘Sustainable Hertfordshire’. We established 9 principles that would guide our activity to be cross cutting across all council departments. Some of the principles are concerned with how we can provide influence and set an example to external bodies and organisations. The three cornerstone principles are reducing carbon, improving air quality for all, and improving nature. In the case of HCC’s own estate of around 11000 acres, the ambition is to improve nature by 20 percent. Every proposal from any department includes an Environmental Impact Assessment. More recently this has been refined into a Decision Making Portal, an online tool that staff must use and which goes through a set of questions and guidance to ensue consistency and clear understanding of the impacts of the proposal. The output will vary dependent on the nature and work of the department, eg Social Care, Highways, Waste Disposal, Fire Service, Education and Libraries.


The Business Waste payment office is part of the scheme for handling all waste efficiently and sustainably.

Is there a place in this responsibility for recognising Orchards as examples of important green spaces and resisting their loss and encouraging the creation of new community orchards?

Upper tier councils were given the task of establishing Local Nature Recovery Plans. I have had the privilege of chairing the Board which examined the work of a number of steering groups in creating the strategy and mapping areas for nature improvement and identifying priority species. The Board members included representatives from Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, Environment Agency, Natural England, and councillors representing the Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership, and other committees representing countywide infrastructure and growth. We engaged a consultancy to hold a series of meetings in the 10 districts and boroughs with residents and interested parties. In talking to residents it became clear that there was an interest in finding out what could be done to improve diversity and species in relatively small plots of land such as cemeteries, small parks and allotments. A feature of this was an interest in establishing small orchards, with the dual purpose of food production and at the same time assisting pollinators and encouraging wildlife. Once the plan is completed following approval by DEFRA, then the next step is to establish something like a Community Interest Company as a vehicle to attract investment from external organisations wanting to achieve their environmental accreditations. I have also believed that there should be a ‘how to’ element in the website to provide guidance to interest groups wishing to start their own projects which could include orchards. The benefits of volunteering in nature projects also includes the health and well being of participants.

How much power does the Council spokesperson for Environment have?

For policies that directly affect the Council operation, then the power is to take decisions along with cabinet colleagues. Eg: we took action to reduce our carbon usage through changing all the street lamps to LEDs, and over time starting to change the fleet to electric vehicles and sending no waste to landfill, but instead sending it to energy creation. In 6 years we reduced our carbon output by over a third. Externally it is the power of influence in working with external bodies to change behaviour, eg towards more walking and cycling, encouraging people to stop idling their engines, or burning fossil fuels in wood stoves, and facilitating the planting of over 400000 trees towards our target of 1.2 million by 2030.

Do Council members refer to and take into account such as The Historic England Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Interest and the outcomes for the project Orchards East that surveyed and listed old orchards lost etc?

Not specifically, although as part of the local Nature Recovery consultations residents and organisations were encouraged to highlight specific locations on maps which could then be used as part of the evidence base towards improving nature on land and identifying species that could be increased in those locations.

The 10 District and Borough Councils along with the County Council also have spatial strategies concerned with green infrastructure needed alongside housing growth. In the Gilston Garden Town proposals a landscape master plan is being produced which will take into account heritage and there are proposals for creating opportunities for local food production and specifically orchards.

I guess I am asking how were you able in the position you held able to protect our environment? Successes or failures?

In terms of successes, we are on target to plant 1.2 million trees by 2030. Our ‘Your Tree, Our Future’ scheme of giving away trees to residents to plant has been very successful, and each year the initiative is launched it becomes oversubscribed in days. Our carbon reduction so far is significant, but becomes harder over time and especially as the Council has responsibility for over 400 primary schools. The emphasis is then to upgrade facilities when they need renewing in order to reduce energy consumption.

We have also worked in other ways. For primary schools we have run an ‘eco warriors’ competition, encouraging the pupils to come up with ideas for making their own schools more environmentally friendly. There is a cash prize for the 3 winning schools to go towards their ambitions. For secondary schools we have held an annual Youth COP, along the lines of the UN conference of parties. This year 29 secondary schools attended. They took part in a live simulation of actions that nations and businesses could undertake to affect climate change. There was an opportunity for students chat with organisations in the environmental sector to hear about career opportunities for vitally needed green skills.

A further practical approach to the environment can be seen in how the District Council, as the planning authority, approaches compilation of evidence for the Local Plan for housing development. One of the key documents currently being updated is the Green Infrastructure Plan. ‘A network of multifunctional green and blue [that is with water features] spaces and other natural features, urban and rural, which is capable of delivering a wide range of environmental, economic, health and well being benefits for nature, climate, for local and wider communities and prosperity.’

Equally important for health and wellbeing is stewardship of the environment. The County Council’s Countrywide Rights of Way Service provides a shared service for the 10 Districts and Boroughs. They have the expertise to provide Green Space Action Plans for the parks and open spaces of all the local authorities in Hertfordshire. A good example is the restoration of a chalk stream at Waterford near Hertford. In addition to maintaining the County’s 3,000 kilometres of footpaths and Rights of Way, they enlist the help of around 600 volunteers who provide Health Walks, in order to keep residents physically and mentally active, and work alongside ‘Friends’ groups such as those who do such fantastic work at Pishiobury Park and other places.


Eric, with David Snowdon, a Bishop’s Stortford Town Councillor, is planting trees in Stortford.

Eric is happy to respond to questions from those reading this article. Please contact him by e-mail using this link.

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