This year we were pleased to accept ten new fruit trees from the Tree Council to add to our orchard at Redwood Park Academy. Enclosed by a young ,but rapidly developing, mixed native hedge we already had a mix of sixteen apples, pears, plums and cherries formally laid out in addition to the sixteen scattered around our allotment gardens.
Our school is situated in the north of Portsmouth, one of the most densely populated cities in Europe, and these plantings help make the site a flourishing haven for wildlife and a green oasis for outdoor learning with all the associated benefits to our students well-being, mental health and their care for and understanding of the natural world.
Our students engagement in the planting and care for these new trees, and the orchard area more widely, gives them a rare opportunity to be involved in a project with long term benefits and a reach beyond their own time here at Redwood Park.

Thanks again to the Tree Council for the support (and the fabulous trees) you have given us this year.