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Grading satellite images

Based on over 150 locations that were mapped as old orchard in OS maps, volunteers reviewed each location to see if there could potentially still be an orchard at that site.

How volunteers created a shortlist of promising orchard locations

Volunteers reviewed a Google map on which we'd plotted historical orchard locations. This exercise was completed in April 2024 and you can read all about the Results in numbers.

We plotted the historic orchards onto a Google map, so you can see where they used to be in the Luton of today. The map also shows the town's existing orchards.

Map with all historical orchard locations

Open map in a new window

Examples of graded satellite images

LO209

Grade 1 - no trees. Houses and driveways cover the plot. The small lawned area does not look like it has any trees on it.

LO154

Grade 2 - may be trees remaining. They could be in the top-right corner. However, this is unlikely, because the buildings look quite recent and it'd be fair to assume the site was cleared completely before construction.

LO148

Grade 3 - looks promising. Different deciduous trees grow along the entire plot. The relatively loose canopy structure hints at them being fruit trees.

Read the original instructions for grading the satellite images

Open the Luton Orchards Google Map in its own browser tab. Each orchard location has a unique reference code in the column named Incid.
Find the parcel with the reference code by searching for it in the search box or by using the list on the map.
Look at the parcel of land that's outlined. Can you still see trees on the site? Has it been completely built over?

Fruit trees tend to cast a less dense shadow on the surrounding area, but it's hard to tell from satellite imagery only. If you're not sure, err on the safe side. To help make the decision, see the examples on this page.

How to record what you see

Use the following scoring system and enter it into the field called SatSurvRes:

1 = no trees remaining (no trees, just buildings, ground or roads)
2 = maybe trees remaining (some trees that are not obviously conifers)
3 = looks promising (open ground and visible trees that might look like fruit trees)

If you're not sure, select 'not sure'. Locations where you haven't yet looked at the satellite image should say 'Not assessed yet'.

Name: this will be the code of the researcher (for example, RES1).

Description: you can enter a short note into this field if you feel it is important.

Table with the full set of graded historical orchard polygons

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