Worthing Lifestyle May - Jun 2021

oarding orchard initiative
Robin Fletcher explains
Headmaster, staff and pupils at Rendcomb College, planting their Boarding Orchard tree
When someone as respected as Sir David
Attenborough warns, as he did when
addressing the UN Security Council recently,
that climate change could result in a global
crisis comparable to the one which enveloped
the world in the years after the First World
War, you can’t ignore it.
While the majority of the world’s main focus
has understandably been on the fight against
coronavirus for the past 12 months, it’s vital
that we don’t lose sight of the threat posed
by climate change. Climate change affects us
all and it will be here long after COVID-19 has
been brought under control.
The Boarding Schools’ Association (BSA)
has long been championing the idea that our
member schools can play an important role
in tackling climate change. It’s a global issue,
and as we have more than 600 members in
36 countries around the world, our schools
are uniquely well-placed to lead the way on
sustainability and encourage the generations
of students who will pass through their
boarding houses in the coming years to help
protect the environment throughout their lives.
Back in 2014, the BSA launched the Boarding
Orchard initiative, which encourages boarding
schools to plant fruit trees in their grounds,
symbolising growth and caring for the
environment. Our aim is for it become to be
the ‘largest’ orchard by geography anywhere
in the world.
6 | www.minervamagazines.co.uk
By involving students in tree planting, schools
can also help to make environmentallyfriendly
practices part of students’ ingrained
behaviour from a very early age, helping to
ensure they are fully aware how everything
they do can affect the planet. And this will
help leave a lasting legacy, with students
imparting their knowledge to their own
children so it is passed on from generation to
generation.
Our progress to date has been good. Since
we launched the Boarding Orchard, more
than 150 schools in the UK, Switzerland,
Russia and the United States have planted
more than 180 trees. The Boarding Orchard
has also recently received the royal seal of
approval. His Royal Highness, the Prince
of Wales has long been a great supporter
of a wide range of causes and projects
relating to protecting the environment and
sustainability. In late 2020, he lent his support
to the BBC Countryfile programme’s ‘Plant
Britain’ campaign, a two-year project which
will see 750,000 trees planted. Following this,
we contacted him to make him aware of our
initiative.
In a reply to BSA, a Clarence House
spokesperson passed on the Prince’s
‘warmest wishes for every success with the
project’, calling the Boarding Orchard ‘an
excellent way of promoting environmental
awareness.’
With the Prince’s encouragement, and with
more schools pledging their support by
joining the Boarding Orchard, we’re very
excited about its future.
For more information about the BSA Boarding
Orchard, please visit the BSA website: www.
boarding.org.uk/440/national-boarding-week/
boarding-orchard
Robin Fletcher, CEO, BSA and BSA Group