Kingston's bin collecting service, Veolia, has seen its Orchard Campaign plant 500 fruit trees in 100 London schools in a bid to inspire the next generation of environmentalists.

In collaboration with the community action group, Groundwork, Veolia's Orchard Campaign was launched to help schools blossom with biodiversity and join a national network of orchards. Since the call went out for schools across the country to sign up, Veolia has donated 500 trees to over 100 primary and secondary schools, including the Acorn to Oak Nursery and Preschool in Kingston.

By donating orchards to schools, Veolia says it is placing the power of positive change in the hands of the "future guardians" of our planet. School children across the country now have the opportunity to plant their very own orchard and learn how to care for them until they bear fruit, providing them with healthy, locally sourced food, the organisation says.

Michelle du Toit, Director of Acorn to Oak Nursery and Preschool in Kingston, said: "We pride ourselves with the amount of space we offer the children which gives them lots of knowledge of different plants and, more specifically, trees.

"We became Tree Wardens through The Tree Council earlier this year, so being able to accept the fruit trees from Veolia Orchard was fantastic for the children to see. We'll be able to utilise them for different learning opportunities throughout the coming years - we are very grateful!"

The campaign is being powered by Veolia's Sustainable Schools programme which launched during the pandemic to continue its work in educating children and young adults on the importance of protecting our planet and the environment. Across the South London Waste Partnership boroughs of Croydon, Kingston, Merton, and Sutton, Veolia supports schools with the Recycling Rockstars education package.

Pascal Hauret, Managing Director of Municipal at Veolia added: "The extraordinary response to the Veolia Orchard campaign highlights how important trees are, not just for the environment but for the positive impact they have on the education and wellbeing of school children in our local communities. We're delighted to be partnering with Groundwork and all the teams look forward to helping this national network of orchards take root."

Joe McIndoe, UK Partnerships Manager at Groundwork said: "With the numbers of orchards in the UK in steep decline, we're delighted to work alongside Veolia to provide free trees to primary schools and begin building this network of orchards across the country.

"The trees provide many benefits: fruit so that children can have the pleasure of picking and eating juicy, fresh food, shade in the summer and the tools for pupils to learn about nature guided by a handy booklet developed by Groundwork's landscaping experts. We can't wait to see the kids planting their trees."