The BIG Apple Squeeze

Press, Sip, Celebrate: The Annual Apple Squeeze 

The Dolmens Climate Action Network invites you to roll up your sleeves and get pressing at our Apple Squeeze events—a celebration of home-grown produce, food sustainability, and community spirit.

If you’ve got an apple tree bursting with fruit, or know of one going to waste (with permission to harvest), bring those apples along and turn them into fresh, wholesome juice.

Thanks to funding from the DAERA through their microgrants programme, we’ve sourced professional-grade equipment for scratting (crushing) and pressing, making it easy for everyone to get involved.

Bring your own container to take home your juice—you can pasteurise and bottle it for longer storage, freeze it for year-round enjoyment, or even experiment with fermentation to create your own cider!

Expect a vibrant social gathering with apple-based treats and heritage apple varieties. Let’s reduce food waste, celebrate local produce, and enjoy the fruits of our community’s labour!

Why Join In?

• Reduce Food Waste: So much local fruit goes unpicked every year—let’s put it to good use!
• Celebrate Local Produce: Try rare heritage apple varieties that you won’t find in supermarkets.
• Enjoy a Social Gathering: Share homemade apple-based foods and drinks, meet neighbours and exchange tips on preserving and fermenting.
• Experience Tradition: There may even be a wassailing ceremony—an old custom said to bless the trees for a bountiful harvest next year!

Whether you bring apples or just come to give a hand and enjoy the atmosphere, this is a fantastic way to embrace sustainable food practices while having fun. So grab your fruit, your bottles and your friends to join us for a day of community-powered juicing.

Let’s make sure no apple goes to waste!