Manchester City Council has announced plans to introduce fruit trees and bushes across the city in response to the fact that children from the city did not know where different types of fruit came from. The fruit will be free for the community to use as it wishes, whether just to pick and eat or for community projects.

The £200,000 scheme will see about 20,000 plants introduced to the city’s parks with signs and labels on them to tell the locals the right time of year to pick and eat the fruit. As well as fruit bushes and trees the council will also plant herbs and introduce more beehive sites, with park employees being trained on how to look after the plants and bees.

The plan will also see a number of vegetable plots created; with waiting lists for plots of land at a premium in the Mancherster area this will be a welcome relief for people who want to grow their own produce.

A statement from Manchester parks and leisure stated.

“Historically there have been very few fruit trees in our parks and we were amazed by the number of young people who told us they didn’t know where fruit and veg came from. These are public areas and there is no reason why people shouldn’t be able to help themselves to the produce grown.”