Information sheet for schools

Background
Apple Day was first launched on 21st October 1990 in Old Market, Covent Garden as a celebration and demonstration of the variety of apple trees we are losing along with the richness and diversity of landscape and culture. Many communities and organisations have taken part in past Apple Days, including villages, local authorities, city markets, the National Trust, Women's Institutes, Wildlife Trusts, museums, art galleries, horticultural societies, schools, colleges and environmental centres. Apple Day is held each year on or around 21st October.

Below are some ideas for how your school could participate. While some of the ideas are quick and easy to arrange others need some preparation in the months leading up to the big day. For example, if you are looking for an enthusiast/expert who will be able to identify apples correctly, it may be necessary to book one several months in advance. So book early for next year!

Apple games & customs
The are a wide variety of games involving apples to keep the children entertained, such as: apple bobbing, the longest apple peel competition, guess how many pips in an apple, and who can find the most apples buried in buckets of straw.

Apple giving
Encourage the children to give apples, decorated or plain, as expression of their affection for someone.
Visit an orchard A visit to a local community orchard could prove a great opportunity for children to learn first hand about the variety and age of local apple trees.

Name your apple
Ask children to bring in a selection of apples from local trees. These can be used as part of a guessing game about the variety. An expert on hand will be able to identify the variety correctly. For a local expert contact your local Fruit Group, the Royal Horticultural Society Fruit Group or the Marcher Apple Network. If you cannot find an expert then perhaps your local library has a book on apple varieties, which may help. Those of you living in Cornwall can ask the County Council for a photographic template for each local variety.

Apple maps
You can ask children to create an apple map illustrating where each apple has come from. You may even be able to enlist the help of the local County Council. The children can make a collage of photographs, drawings and information. See Varieties of Somerset: a guide to the origins of Somerset's apples by June Small, (1995) as an example.

Apple cooking
Your school might like to hold a special cooking session looking at local culinary traditions for cooking with apples. The Apple Source Book: particular recipes for diverse apples, by Common Ground (1992) provides special menus using particular varieties of apples, for example apple pancakes and apple and cheese tartlets.

Apples in art & culture
Your school might like to hold a competition for the best apple painting or drawing, or even to encourage poetry and prose, songs, stories and performances around the subject of the apple.

Apples in education
Your school might like to explore the chemistry of the apple, the biology of the apple tree or even the ecology of the orchard. You might even be able to persuade your local authority to provide trees for planting in the school grounds, so creating your own mini-orchard. This will help educate the children about the way their food is produced and about the rhythm of the seasons.

Involve school caterers
Using some recipes from the Apple Source Book your school caterers may like to participate in Apple Day by serving meals with a special apple focus.

More Information Common Ground can provide more information on Apple Day on 01747 850820 or www.commonground.org.uk. They also have the following materials: Apple Day; leaflet (single copies free with sae, £1.00 for 10) and posters (£1.00 for 10) The Apple Broadcast - newspaper about Apple Day projects (£3.00) Orchard Slide Pack - 20 colour slides covering Community Orchards and Apple Day + commentary (purchase price £40.00 or £15 per week to hire) Gartmore Primary School have produced the Apple Day Schools Starter Pack. To receive a copy write to Margaret Miller, Gartmore Primary School, Main St, Gartmore, Stirling, FK8 3RJ (£2.50 incl p&p)