Heineken partners new community urban orchard projects
Launched earlier this week on National Apple Day (21 October), the project will support local people to generate and restore 100 community orchards by 2017.
The project wants to help up to 4,000 people learn new skills and "deliver transformational benefits to their local communities". The aim is to create sustainable, long-term orchards planted and managed by the community.
Helping Britain Blossom will be delivered in partnership with the Urban Orchard Project - which plant and harvest fruit trees in cities - and sustainability charity The Bulmer Foundation. In the first year, the project will work at grassroots level in London, Birmingham, Hereford and Edinburgh, before expanding in to other urban areas in year two.
Passion
Heineken managing director David Forde said: "This new project is about bringing people together, in an exciting and practical way, to create lasting change in the areas in which they live. As a cider maker, orchards are hugely important to our business. We also know that they can have real benefits for urban communities.
"We want to share our passion for orchards with communities across the country. I look forward to seeing the groups, and their orchards, blossom over the next few years."
Kath Rosen from The Urban Orchard Project: "Orchards are a great way to bring communities together. Everybody can play their part, however big or small. A community orchard isn’t just a collection of trees, it’s a community of people working together to make the local area a better place to live, work and enjoy."
