Help Your School Change the World
So you want to save the planet and get free fresh fruit for your good efforts?

As featured on The Today Show, “Fruit Tree 101” is a program that brings fruit tree orchards to schoolyards so students can improve the quality of the air and water while creating a source of tasty snacks for decades to come. Not only do our schoolyard fruit orchards help the environment, but they give your teacher an excuse to hold class outside when it’s time for science lessons!

“Fruit Tree 101” is made entirely possible through the generous support of Stretch Island Fruit Co., makers of FruitaBü, organic smoooshed fruit for kids. Such environmentally-conscious companies are truly making the world a better place for everyone.

Bring “Fruit Tree 101” to Your School:
Win "A Tree for Us, A Tree for Me" Promotion
New this year, “Fruit Tree 101” invites parents to submit their children’s schools to receive a special schoolyard planting in honor of their son or daughter! No matter the location, if the winner family’s school is a suitable public school equipped with enough green space to sustain an orchard, you could help the environment and bring tasty treats to your children’s classmates. And if your school wins, so does your family – “Fruit Tree 101” will also present the winning family an individual fruit tree that can be planted at or near their home, and enjoyed for years to come.

Download our application here and ask an interested school official to complete and return it to us directly according to the instructions in the document. Please also email your contact information and affiliated school name to info@ftpf.org so we can let you know if you win the "A Tree for Us, A tree for Me" planting promotion.

Protect the Planet, Plant a Tree!
“Fruit Tree 101” orchards can serve as outdoor edible classrooms, where students meet to learn about botany, ecology, and how to protect the planet’s health. One school district official wrote that they expect the orchards “…to last for decades, giving our students the opportunity to receive environmental education that would not otherwise be available to them.”

When FTPF donates an orchard to your school, you and your teachers help plant the young trees while you learn about how important they are to your health and the planet. This is one class where it is OK to get muddy and dig in the dirt!

FTPF’s orchards have been planted throughout the United States and include trees bearing figs, cherries, apples, pears, citrus, cherimoyas, sapodillas, and much more! That means that students across the country have a fresh, healthy source of nutrition in their diets. You can read more about some of the schools that have benefited from the program here.

Fruity Facts
Fruits are low in fat, sodium, and contain no cholesterol, which means they help keep you strong and in shape. Eating fruits gives you the vitamins and minerals you need to fight infections and stay out of the doctor’s office. The American Heart Association recommends you eat 4 to 5 servings of fruit a day. A serving could be an orange or banana, a glass of 100% fruit juice, or 1/2 cup of cut-up fruit like watermelon, cantaloupe or peaches.

Where does oxygen come from?
Trees produce oxygen, which humans need to breathe. Just 2 trees can provide all the oxygen you need to breathe.

Natural Purifiers
Trees absorb pollutants like carbon dioxide from the air. One tree can clean about 10 pounds of pollution and 330 pounds of carbon dioxide from our air every year!

Johnny Appleseed: Not Just a Legend
His real name was John Chapman and he planted fruit trees across Ohio, Indiana and Illinois in the 1800s. This meant people and animals could have nutritious food year after year.

View media reports about recent "Fruit Tree 101" plantings
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (New York, New York)
The News-Tribune (Tacoma, Washington)
Herald-Zeitung (New Braunfels, Texas)
Navajo Hopi Observer (Hopi Reservation, Arizona)
The Record (Teaneck, New Jersey)
The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio)
Good Day Alabama (Birmingham, Alabama)
The Birmingham News (Birmingham, Alabama)
Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Honolulu, Hawaii)
The Daily Breeze (Lawndale, California)
Good Morning San Diego (San Diego, California)
The Oregonian (Portland, Oregon)
The Bee (Portland, Oregon)
The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin)

Select quotes from Fruit Tree 101 participants

“We expect the FTPF orchards planted at each school to last for decades, giving our students the opportunity to receive environmental education that would not otherwise be available to them.” -Clint Taylor, National School District, National City, California

“The effect of the trees on the students, faculty, staff and the community will be felt on so many levels.” -Jeannette Vaughn, Elementary Principal, Albert Einstein Academies, San Diego, Calif.

“We were literally ‘blown away’ by the sheer number of trees and plants we received and by your group’s dedication to your mission. We are so grateful for the plants and excited about the fruits that we will have in a few years.” -John Burkholder, Principal, Midvale Elementary School, Madison, Wisconsin

“After seven years we are now able to create the gren educational center and the fruit trees that we planted with you are the center piece of this model… Together we have created an oasis among a concrete jungle.” -Sara Laimon, Green Ambassador Director, Environmental Charter High School, Lawndale, California

“Your generosity is another positive step in the realization of many special programs and campus improvements, which will help to enrich the education of our students.” -Jesus M. Gandara, Superintendent, Sweetwater Union High School District, Chula Vista, California

“This award is presented to the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation in appreciation of your contribution to the Life Skills Garden” -Milor High School, Rialto, California

“I could not utter enough superlatives about your organization: Hope, inspiration, and all around goodness to name a few.” -Jaime Ogden, Certified Elementary School Teacher, Colo.

“Your organization was instrumental in making our dreams of garden-based education in schools come closer to reality.” –Yveline Wilnau, Farm Manager, Learning Garden Laboratory, Portland, Ore.