Students branch out to grow their own fruit
25 Feb 2013
The University has planted its first ever campus orchard.
Forty students helped to plant more than eighty fruit trees around their halls of residence, aiming to provide staff and students with an abundance of eating apples in years to come.
The apples are all varieties from the north west, and should be well suited to our city’s weather conditions.
The University obtained the trees from The Kindling Trust, who arranged community groups to graft 350 trees which are to be distributed around the Greater Manchester area to inspire local fruit growing.
As members of the Big Dig, a nationwide project to engage volunteers in food growing, The University of Manchester and the Kindling Trust hope this will be the beginning of a transformation which will make the University one of the country’s most food-friendly places to study.
Alexander Clark, Sustainability Officer for the Directorate for the Student Experience, said: “We’re starting with apples, but next winter we plan to plant plums, pears and a whole range of soft fruit.
“We already source local organic vegetables for our halls, and now students can go a step further, and grow their own in Halls. This is just the beginning and we are looking forward to the journey.”
Trees have been planted around Ashburne and Sheavyn Hall, Richmond Park as well as Woolton Hall in Fallowfield Campus and at Dalton Ellis Hall in Victoria Park.
This week, the students will move on to plant more trees at Hulme Hall.
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