Fruitfull Schools
Garden Organic is working with the national charity Learning through Landscapes (LTL) who have developed an exciting new national project enabling thousands of children to establish heritage fruit orchards within their school grounds and in partnership with their local communities. The project, Fruit-full Schools, was recently awarded a National Lottery Local Food grant and started in January 2010.
Garden Organic Ryton hosted a training session for all staff involved in this exciting project. An orchard full of apple varieties local to the Midlands was planted at Ryton. Staff involved with the project will come back each year to learn how to look after apple trees at different stages of development.
Fruitfull Schools Programme Summary
You can eat a different English apple every day for more than six whole years, yet the UK imports 69% of our apples - an 11% increase in a decade. Two thirds of orchards have been lost from England since the 1950s. This project will help counteract this massive loss by engaging pupils of 50 secondary schools and an army of apple volunteers to research local varieties, graft 2,000 new trees and establish sustainable orchards in 200 schools throughout England.
A generation of children have become disenfranchised from nature, disconnected from the seasons and disassociated from where their food comes from. Where they exist, most school growing clubs focus on salad and vegetable crops. However, interest amongst schools for this kind of project growing: The Tree Council report an increase in the numbers of enquires regarding fruit trees in their Trees for Schools Fund but are concerned that schools may not have the technical knowledge or motivation to provide the care that young fruit trees require. Schools are also wary of orchard projects, incorrectly fearing that they need space, technical expertise and large funds to even begin. There is a clear need therefore to support schools in this and to create a bank of inspiring case studies illustrating the art of the possible; as schools tell us that this is what inspires them most.
Fruit-full Schools will stimulate children’s knowledge of cultural diversity and engage them in hands-on learning about the benefits of local fruit. 65,000 children will participate in cultural festivals such as Wassailing, Apple Day and other creative celebrations across England. Schools will share experiences and access learning resources through the national Apple Club - the online hub of all activities - developed in partnership with the UK champion for local distinctiveness, Common Ground.
The project will culminate in a national campaign in which young people encourage members of the community to sample local fruit varieties and sign up to the ‘100,000 Reasons Why I Love Local Fruit’ campaign. A national scrumping competition will motivate children, their families and neighbours to gather and redistribute locally-grown and donated surplus produce to disadvantaged members of the community. One initiative that we sought project advice from, collect 3 tonnes of free apples annually!
Fruit-full Schools will be facilitated by ten project coordinators – one in each government region in England and two for London. Each will work with five secondary schools and their feeder primary schools (or Apple Pips!) to engage a total of 200 schools. Regional coordinators will be supported and managed by a national team, led by LTL, with 20 years experience of managing complex partnership programmes. Garden Organic and the Royal Horticultural Society will provide technical training and advice in tree care. Common Ground will bring its unrivalled knowledge of heritage fruits and cultural festivals.
For more information contact fruitfullschools@ltl.org.uk
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