Veolia's Orchard project is a blossoming success!

Last June, our waste contractor Veolia launched something special called the Veolia Orchard campaign, specifically for schools across West Berkshire.

The campaign offered local schools an extraordinary opportunity to enrich their educational landscape by applying for five vibrant fruit trees or, 10 strawberry plants if they didn't have much space.

There were 11 local schools who were successful in their applications and now, over the past few weeks, Veolia has been busy delivering and planting these tremendous trees and plants in those schools.

The Orchard campaign is more than just a gesture. By immersing students in hands-on experiences and empowering them to care for their local ecosystems, this initiative is sowing the seeds for a greener, more sustainable future.

David Matthews, General Manager at Veolia West Berkshire said:

"It only takes five fruit trees to make an orchard, but it takes a nation to grow a network of trees that can help us fight climate change and improve air quality for our children.

"We are pleased to be able to support schools across West Berkshire to help us deliver ecological transformation, one orchard at a time."

Cllr Stuart Gourley, Executive Member for Environment at West Berkshire Council, said:

"We are pleased to work with Veolia on delivering this initiative and are excited that this campaign is going to be open again for applications this summer, allowing more schools the opportunity to have fruit trees on their site. This also supports the Councils commitment to tackle the climate and ecological emergency we are all facing."

Congratulations to these schools as we watch their orchards grow and make our communities even better places to be!

_{Image: (l-r) Councillor Stuart Gourley and David Matthews}