School Workshops and Fruit Tree Plantings
The FruitShare team is thrilled to work with schools across Simcoe County on local food literacy and schoolground greening initiatives. Each workshop comes with 2-4 fruit trees to be planted on school property. Apple or pear is recommended with fall ripening dates so students can harvest the fruit during the school year. If schools require help harvesting the fruit, FruitShare volunteers will help!
What Schools Get
- One workshop with two FruitShare facilitators
- 2-4 fruit trees* to be planted at your school (Sept/Oct ripening dates)
- Lesson plans with learning outcomes, activity descriptions, and Ontario curriculum links
- Educational handouts (electronic and/or hard copies)
- Project promotion on FruitShare website and Facebook page and news media
- Two supporting visits after the date of the tree planting (to teach about tree care and harvesting)
*If the school does not want to plant fruit trees, the trees will be planted at another location in the community. Schools may also be eligible for a discount.
Workshop Topics and Activities*
*Educational materials cover relevant Ontario curriculum.
Food Literacy
- Foster an appreciation for fresh, local fruit.
- “Local or Tropical” game
- Sensory game: Blindfolded fruit-guessing contest or harvest blanket
- “Guess the Blossom” game (fruit based on photo of the flower (give hints)
Environmental benefits of fruit trees
- Biodiversity & habitat
- Climate change (shade, oxygen)
- Pollution reduction (water retention and filtration; reduced runoff)
- Reduced “food miles”
- Waste reduction (harvest of existing fruit trees)
- Pollination
Schoolground Greening/Food Security
- Harvesting (schools with existing fruit trees)
- When to pick (how to tell when the fruit is ripe)
- Proper picking technique
- How to use fruit pickers. Optional activity: have students design their own fruit picker or make some with pop bottles.
- Tree maintenance
- Importance of pruning
- Visit from an arborist
- Pest management (bees & wasps)
Waste Reduction & Composting
- Apple peeling contest & creative ideas for apple peels
- Onsite composting
- Green bin program (EcoSchools)
- Case study from St Monica’s Catholic School
Food Security
- Breakfast and lunch clubs
- Case study from Hillcrest Public School
Food Skills
- Food preparation (cooking, baking, smoothies, etc)
- Recipe sampling (applesauce, muffins, dried fruit granola, fruit leather, etc)
- Nutritional information and creative ideas for healthy eating
Who can Apply
FruitShare welcomes all schools to apply for a workshop. We work with school eco-teams, teachers who want fun ways to engage students, and principals who want their whole school to be able to harvest their own food and supply the school with healthy snacks and ingredients for cooking classes. Each presentation is linked to the Ontario Curriculum and tailored to the school’s needs. Our Harvest Heroes teach students about the environmental, social, psychological, and health benefits of planting and caring for fruit trees.
Workshops Costs
The School Outreach Program is a social enterprise for FruitShare. By partnering with FruitShare schools are not only investing in their students but also a valuable community program.
| Audience Size | 1 hour | 2 hours | 3 hours (half day)* |
| Up to 50 students | $200 | $250 | $300 |
| 51-100 students | $250 | $300 | $350 |
| 101-150 students | $300 | $350 | $400 |
*Half day workshops may include food skills component, physical education games, field trips to the Food Forest.
Sponsorship
Schools are welcome to apply for sponsorship. Fill out the sponsorship section of the workshop request form.