Watford schools and community groups can apply for five free apple or pear trees, or ten strawberry plants, from Veolia until Friday 20 November.
Schools and community groups in Watford can now apply for a free small orchard. Veolia, which collects the borough’s bins and looks after its parks, opened this year’s round of its Veolia Orchard scheme on Monday 21 September. Applications close on Friday 20 November.
Watford Borough Council announced the round on 23 September. Since 2022 the scheme has planted 70 fruit trees and 110 strawberry plants in Watford. They went to 18 schools and three community organisations.
What you can get
According to Veolia’s scheme page, each successful group chooses one of two options:
- five apple or pear trees, each 1.2 to 1.5 metres tall when delivered
- ten strawberry plants, for groups without room for trees
The council says each orchard also comes with a free, limited supply of Pro-Grow. That is Veolia’s soil conditioner, made from recycled garden waste. Groups can also ask for a planting session with Veolia’s staff.
Who can apply
Veolia lists schools, universities, colleges, prisons, care homes, community centres and places of worship as eligible. Watford is one of the council areas where the scheme runs, because Veolia holds the borough’s waste, street cleaning and parks contract.
The page sets out what a site needs for trees:
- about 25 square metres of ground, with the trees roughly 5 metres apart
- good drainage
- permission from the landowner to plant
A group without that space can apply for strawberry plants instead, as long as it has a green space or existing planters. Veolia says applications are judged case by case. If demand is high, it may give priority to more disadvantaged groups, or to urban areas with less access to good green space.
What happens after you apply
- December: successful groups hear back, the council says.
- Spring 2027: the trees or plants are delivered, with a step-by-step planting guide.
- Planting: the group does it, with its own tools. Veolia sends an equipment list first.
Veolia’s page also warns that successful groups agree in advance to appear in its publicity. That covers case studies in press releases, reports, leaflets and websites. A school should check that fits its photo consent rules before applying.
What it means for you
If you run or help at a Watford school, nursery, care home, church, mosque, temple or community centre, this is a free orchard for the price of an online form. The first page of the application form asks for a contact name, job title, the organisation’s address and whether you have applied before. Watford is in its list of boroughs.
The deadline is Friday 20 November. Groups that applied before and missed out can apply again: the form asks about it directly.
The Elected Mayor, Peter Taylor, said in the council’s release: “I’d encourage schools and community organisations across Watford to take advantage of this opportunity and get involved.”
Veolia also runs the borough’s bin and recycling collections, and the Pro-Grow sent with each orchard is made from recycled garden waste.
The wider scheme
Nationally, Veolia says its orchard network now has more than 1,995 apple and pear trees and 3,620 strawberry plants. They are spread across 716 schools and 55 community organisations.
The round was launched at Beaumont School in St Albans, about seven miles north-east of Watford. That school won Veolia’s Orchard Bakes competition with a chutney made from its own apples and pears, grown from trees Veolia gave it in 2023.
Sources: Watford Borough Council news release, 23 September 2026; Veolia Orchard scheme page; Veolia Orchard application form.
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