After the failed attempts to meet all the school heads from the region in one single meeting promoted by the chairman of the Parish council (waiting and waiting for replies to emails, calls and visits), I tried to focus on one single school and contacted the head of the school closer to the orchard. No luck. I got the wrong emails given by the the secretaries, or had to speak to people who could not decide and asked for emails to be sent but then never responded, a new suggestion by the chairman of the parish council and a new wait... It was time to think small and try a new approach: knock on the door of a smaller school and ask to see its coordinator. She was very open and welcomed the proposal for activities with great enthusiasm. We agreed in having activities both in class as after that in the orchard. First there will be a session at school, to talk about fruits, trees, times of the year, making links of each year curricula to to the orchard. Then we'll take children to the park and observe, draw and collect elements that relate to the orchard. And then, once the planting is scheduled, children will be invited to join us, and return throughout the year to care for a part of the orchard. The activities will be developed with different classes of groups 1, 2 and 3 (6, 7 and 8 year olds).
Another activity is being developed with high-school kids studying arts, to draw the change in the orchard throughout the year, focusing on detailed observation, drawing from the observed in the orchard and aiming at raising their interest in the maintenance of the orchard (maybe beside drawing they'll end up orcharding as well!)
Another activity is being developed with high-school kids studying arts, to draw the change in the orchard throughout the year, focusing on detailed observation, drawing from the observed in the orchard and aiming at raising their interest in the maintenance of the orchard (maybe beside drawing they'll end up orcharding as well!)