PUPILS from six Burton primary schools are helping to create an orchard which has been made possible with £100,000 of funding.
Paget High School in Burton Road, Branston, has been awash with schoolchildren aiming to plant 420 fruit trees on 3.5 acres of former scrubland on the school site.
Paget managed to secure £94,000 of lottery funding from the Big Lottery’s Local Food Fund to create its ‘community orchard’.
Another £6,000 has come from various donations to the school.
The Local Food Fund is a £50 million programme that distributes lottery grants to food-related projects to help make locally grown food accessible and affordable to local communities.
Patrick Connelly, business manager at Paget High School, said: “We are involving the local community and the schools.
“Two pupils from our feeder schools are helping to plant a tree each.
“When the trees eventually bear fruit, we are hoping to sell them on, but also use them in our curriculum to encourage healthy eating.” When the orchard is up and running it will boast 19 types of apple tree, as well as pear, cherry and damson varieties.
Each tree planted by the pupils will be numbered and the planters can follow the growth of their tree as they attend Paget in later years.
Children taking part included those from Rykneld, Anglesey, Holy Trinity, Christchurch, Grange and Belvedere primary schools.
The money raised will also go towards a hard Tarmac area in the middle of the orchard which will have seating and can be used for outside lessons, as well as gymnastics and cheerleading.
Mr Connelly added: “Money from the lottery grant will pay for an orchard supervisor for three years and a tractor to help keep the orchard in shape.
“After three years, if we do not get any more funding, the school has agreed to keep the orchard going and pay for the supervisor from our money.” The planting is likely to continue into next week.
