Professional acorn picker collects his 10 millionth nut

Proud horticulturalist David Bendon is responsible for planting 10 million oak trees – as Britain’s only professional acorn picker. David, 57, has spent the last 20 years collecting tonnes of oak tree nuts by hand. His acorns are harvested from specially licensed trees in the South West, which have been selected for their size, health and longevity.

They are then sold to plant nurseries, where they are growing into saplings which are later planted to grow into new oak trees. Mr Bendon, from Williton, Somerset, spends each Autumn mowing back grass and weeds so he can surround the individual trees with matting.



This will collect the falling acorns at the pretty and private Nettlecombe Estate on Exmoor, Devon. He said: ”This year I hope to pick up my 10 millionth acorn. There are, on average, about 200 acorns to a kilo – and so I’ve been able to calculate that I am very close to the 10 million mark.

”I should be collecting it sometime over the next couple of weeks. It’s very gratifying to think that by now my work – which can be pretty cold, wet and windy at this time of year – has been responsible for growing what, collectively, is a vast new forest of English oaks.”

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