Nominee Summary
Megginch Castle Orchard in Perthshire is a leading conservation project reviving Scotland’s apple heritage. Pre-2005, only 90 veteran fruit trees remained—now it holds 1,400 trees and over 400 varieties of apples and pears. Home to two National Collections, the orchard preserves rare Scottish genetics, including the iconic ‘Bloody Ploughman’, which originated here. Spearheaded by Catherine Drummond-Herdman—who also founded the Scottish Apple Producers group—it champions Scottish apple-growing heritage, fosters collaboration among growers, and supports regenerative agriculture and community engagement. The orchard is a platform for research into soil health, biodiversity, and genetic conservation.
What was the motivation?
The motivation was to prevent the loss of Scottish heritage apple varieties and to revive the significant legacy of orchards in the Carse of Gowrie. As well as this, Catherine wanted to create a space to enable children to run free in the orchard, getting time to grow outside, engaging with their local environment and learning about apples. Catherine wanted to conserve the genetic diversity of Scottish apple varieties, with a particular focus on the apple's nutrient density. She recognised the incredible biodiversity of that an orchard could generate and facilitate - from lichens to winter migratory birds to the soil microbiome.
The impact of their work
Two national apple collections registered with Plant Heritage (One for Scottish heritage for apples and pears, the other for Scottish cider apples). Various news articles written about her and the orchard.
Including the community
Catherine firmly believes in education for local schools and bringing them out to the walled garden and orchard. Primary schools in the area come and visit, focusing on everything from learning about drainage to outdoor art. The Megginch Castle walled garden and orchard is also home to the Starfish way. This project supports young people with difficulties who face growing up in a modern and complicated world. It focuses on nurturing the development of young people with additional support needs in a unique and safe environment. It is run by the Perth and Kinross DofE awards scheme, and hosted at Megginch. Catherine leads the Carse of Gowrie orchard group, a community group that runs various local projects, supporting local orchards and cider makers. Megginch was heavily involved in the Tayside Landscape Partnership, which delivered many projects throughout Tayside from 2014-2017. Megginch Castle orchard hosted many workshops and school activities organised under the Tay LP.
