Tried and tested
Words of wisdom from some of the inspirational organisations that advised us in the development of this programme. Real-time learning and top tips also from our fifty Fruit-full Schools...
Growing Wisely:
'The key thing we've learnt from our many years of work is not to hurry people - that meaningful engagement of members of any community in the enjoyment, much less the conservation of the environment and wildlife around them can not be forced. I would advise therefore that you use the full length of your project to really build this engagement amongst the school groups and between young people and their wider community - immediate and extended families, neighbours, scout groups etc. Encourage children to take newly grafted trees home and plant them in Grandma's garden for example...nothing builds ownership like being able to experience a new environment or new fruit as a community thing and as a home-grown thing. That sense of making the orchards open, accessible and 'owned' has been the most important aspect of our community work to date, and with your efforts to make school orchards accessible and to root the scrumping and redistribution projects firmly in the community, I'm sure you will be successful in yours!'
'The other aspect of ownership I wanted to stress was the immeasurable value of oral history. I urge you to encourage the children to go out and ask older family members or neighbours about their memories and experiences of their local orchards and fruit heritage. There is so much history available to us that we often fail to recognise but which, in the re-telling, is brought alive. When properly valued, oral history can create a powerful sense of ownership amongst those involved.'
Peter Naulder, South Court Environmental
Scrumping Ideas:
OrganicLea run a series of community based stalls and events in Walthamstow, North London. Their scrumping initiative started out from the premise that around 1 in 4 detached or semi-detached houses in the area had fruit trees in the garden - last year they picked over 3 tonnes from over 30 trees. These ranged from street trees and pub gardens, to residents who were housebound and unable to pick themselves. Volunteers discussed varieties and exchanged recipes as they went and found out huge amounts about the history of the borough. Many local residents added their trees to a map on which the organisation is starting to identify the many varieties growing in the borough and to build up the scrumping project for an even greater yield next year! Fresh, organic produce is distributed via the local Surestart's parent food and nutrition club, sales of which are subsidised by Surestart in order to ensure that the food is affordable.
'We learnt by our mistakes on storage - apples were much easier than pears, but there was a huge difference between varieties as to how well they keep. But borrowing the East London Organic Gardeners' apple press for a local food festival was a fantastic way to get lots of apples distributed quickly, and provide a lot of compost waste that could go back into the soil. We also advise that your volunteer tree-care work piggy-backs existing schemes...do see your Local Authority for work they're already doing with for example, volunteer fathers groups.'
'The other thing we have learnt that will make a huge difference to the take-up of your project is to ensure that the first tastings of new apples (that often look totally different from shop bought fruit) are guided by someone in-the-know - and preferably trusted in the community. Prospective eaters that we've lost thanks to a rogue maggot or bit of bruising could have been persuaded to try again had it been a more supported process. This (re-)education work will probably be one of the hardest parts of the project' ....but a marketing role that we're sure young people involved will really enjoy playing.
Fruit Juice Logistics
‘We have a juicing plant at Shenley Orchard which provides services to community groups who grow their own apples - and have already had a number of schools who bring us their fruit for pressing and bottling. We produce the juice at 80p per bottle and charge them £1.50. They sell the juice on at their school Autumn/Christmas Fairs at around £2.50 per bottle. There has been a tremendous amount of interest…we normally produce 3,000 bottles a year but have managed 6,000 this year!!
We spoke and ran juicing demonstrations at two primary school assemblies recently….producing 3 gallons of apple juice with the help of the children who then all had a drink each. A great experience – fresh juice which they helped to make!! It’s a logistical nightmare to set up, but all went well – though we did have a problem with a few children who refused to drink out of the same cup as their classmates!!’
David Curry, Hertfordshire Orchard Initiative
Links
London Orchard Project - Fruit in Motion
Watch the London Orchard Project's new video, documenting their work to promote orchards and fruit trees across the city. Working with Londoners to plant and harvest apple, pear and plum trees, the video provides inspiration for helping us all to rediscover the pleasure of eating home-grown fruit.
In partnership with
