Groups in Manchester could get free apple trees to support creation of community orchards

Cider maker Thatchers has 500 apple trees to give away to community groups up and down the country and they are appealing to people in Manchester to nominate groups to apply.

In the fourth year of its Community Orchard Project, Thatchers is looking for fifty organisations doing great things in their local neighbourhoods, to be the 2024 recipients of ten apple trees each. This will enable them to sow the seeds of their own community orchard.

Thatchers has already donated more than 1,000 apple trees to local organisations and groups across the UK, each looking to put the apples they grow to good use within their communities.

Making its world famous cider at its mill in the heart of Somerset, Thatchers grows over 458 varieties of apple in its West Country orchards, and therefore knows just how important apple trees are.

Martin Thatcher is the fourth generation of his family to make cider at Myrtle Farm. He said: "This project is all about community. It’s about understanding how apple trees can not only bring joy, but can act as a means of bringing people together.

"Whether that’s planting the trees and contributing to the growth of orchards, learning about the lifecycle of a delicious apple, or coming together to press fruit at harvest time, apple trees are a wonderful way to create community spirit."

Thatchers is therefore appealing to community groups, charities and organisations to apply to the 2024 project, which opens on January 3, 2024 and runs until midnight on Monday February 5, 2024.

Applying is easy – simply fill in the details requested on the online application form, with a brief description of your organisation and the good things that would come from receiving a bundle of 10 apple trees in 2024.

Thatchers is