Southend City Council is joining forces with the UK’s leading resource management company Veolia, Tesco and community action charity Groundwork to introduce greener areas in schools by donating free fruit trees and plants to 13 schools across Southend.
The Veolia Orchard campaign will be donating almost 600 fruit trees and 800 strawberry plants to UK schools limited by space or without green areas to give children a stronger start by learning more about the environment. Now in its second year the scheme has expanded to another 192 schools across the country and 13 orchards now in Southend. Orchards will be blooming all across the City with successful schools located in Leigh, Westcliff, Southend and Shoeburyness.
The apple and pear trees and strawberry plants, provided by Grow at Brogdale who specialise in organic plant care, will be delivered to the winning schools in November, when the trees have dropped their leaves and the plants are in hibernation, giving them the best chance of surviving the British winter.
To house the plants, Tesco will be donating planters made from recycled soft plastic – collected in its stores from customers to help recycle plastic not always collected through kerbside collections. Soft plastic used in each planter could include bread bags, carrier bags and pasta packets. Veolia’s own ProGrow will also be providing peat-free compost to fill the planters.
This campaign is being powered by Veolia's Sustainable Schools programme which educates children and young adults on the importance of protecting our planet and the environment. For more information on how Veolia supports schools and to discover other partnership opportunities please visit www.veolia.co.uk/schools.
Pascal Hauret, Managing Director, Municipal at Veolia said:
“Improving air quality around schools, engaging pupils on the power of plants and finding innovative recycling solutions which contribute the greatest benefit to the communities we serve is all part of our purpose to deliver ecological transformation.
“Considering we only launched Veolia Orchard last year, we are delighted at how popular the campaign is with schools and are thrilled to be supporting nearly double the amount we did in 2022.”
Cllr Meg Davidson, cabinet member for environment said:
"We are thrilled to be part of the Veolia Orchard campaign, a fantastic initiative that brings greenery and environmental education to schools across our city. This partnership with Veolia, Tesco, and Groundwork exemplifies the positive impact that collaboration can have on our environment and our children's education.
“These fruit trees and plants not only enhance our school spaces but also serve as living classrooms, teaching our students valuable lessons about nature and sustainability. We're grateful for this opportunity to create greener, more vibrant spaces for our students to learn and grow."
Courtney Pallett, Tesco’s Packaging Campaigns Manager said:
“Our in-store recycling points help make soft plastics even easier for our customers to recycle. We’re delighted to be working with Veolia to turn the plastic waste we collect into something new – keeping it out of the environment and helping create greener learning spaces for children in our local communities.”
