CHILDREN from two local schools joined forces last week to plant trees for a fruitful future.

A total of 40 pupils from Walkwood Middle School and St Luke's First School created a community orchard in Morton Stanley Park, planting more than 30 apple and pear trees, as part of National Tree Week.

Funded by The Tree Council’s ‘Orchard Windfalls’, the project is aimed at encouraging children to get involved in growing fruit trees.

A dozen different types of apple and pear trees were chosen, all of them local varieties, including the Worcester Black Pear, depicted on our county coat of arms, and Redditch’s own favourite, the ‘Doddin’ apple.

Every year half a million adults and children are involved in thousands of events during ‘National Tree Week’.

Volunteers from Headless Cross Community Orchard group will be involved in maintaining the orchard.