We’re passionate about supporting schools to plant and maintain orchards. We’ve witnessed the multiple benefits that campus orchards bring to the students in helping them to connect with nature and learn more about where their food comes from.
As outdoor learning opportunities, orchards have more longevity than school allotments and other garden projects, as the students can watch their trees grow throughout the years and enjoy their produce.
We can work with schools at any stage of their orchard journey from planning and designing, to planting, caring or restoring. We deliver outdoor lessons, assemblies and classroom sessions on orchard and fruit trees, as well as training teachers to use their outdoor spaces creatively for wildlife education.
During our orchard restoration project, we linked thirty schools with their local orchards, delivering lessons and giving follow up assembly talks engaging over 3000 children. Over the years, we’ve developed a number of Key Stage 2 lesson plans that deliver National Curriculum learning outcomes using fun, orchard-based activities.
If your school is interested in working with us, please get in touch with Abby: abby@theorchardproject.org.uk. We sometimes have funds that enable us to support schools to plant or plan an orchard. We also offer consultancy if a school is able to fund the cost themselves.
Looking for a lovely apple-related story for younger children? Listen here to Alys Fowler reading Mervyn the Mouse.