The Cumbria Apple Project evolved from the Cumbria Apple Forum, which was formed in early 1996. The forum took the form of a series of open public meetings that provided an opportunity to discuss the promotion and problems of apple growing in Cumbria. It was clear from these meetings that little was known of the current condition of orchards in Cumbria and in October 1996 East Cumbria Countryside Project put together proposals for a pilot project to assess the status and potential of domestic orchards in two representative Cumbrian parishes.
A project officer was appointed in March 1997 once funding for the project was in place. The project officer was responsible for carrying out the orchard surveys, interviewing orchard owners, analysing the data, organising apple identification events in both parishes and writing up a final report.