Alpro is helping to educate children about nature and the benefits of healthy eating via the Trees for Cities edible garden scheme. Recently an edible garden was planted at Avondale Primary School in Kettering with the help of the pupils, company mascot Big Al (the soya bean) and charity Trees for Cities.

The fruit orchard is designed to promote a healthier lifestyle for children while also teaching them the benefits of fresh, locally sourced produce and good nutrition. The fruit trees – apple and plum as well as raspberry and jostaberry bushes – were selected to ensure a succession of fruit throughout the academic year and will provide the school kitchen with tasty and healthy puddings.

Alpro’s dietitians were also on hand to carry out fun healthy eating workshops with the children, exploring colourful recipes they can easily make once they start harvesting fresh fruit from the school orchard.

The company has also announced that it will be supporting the London Tree-Athlon event, due to take place on 15 September 2007 in Battersea Park, London.  Organised by the charity Trees for Cities, the Tree-Athlon aims to raise enough funds for another 20,000 trees in needy urban areas from London’s East End to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. The charity is hoping to attract 4,000 individual participants who will each make an urban tree wish, run a 5km race and plant a tree seed. For more information log on to www.treesforcities.org