A programme in Cornwall called the Apple Academy is helping young people who are not in employment, education or training to gain work experience and connect with nature. The programme involves harvesting apples grown in orchards at the Eden Project, pressing and cooking them with the assistance of Eden’s head chef Mike Greer, and serving them to visitors as apple crumble, chutney and juice. Local varieties of apples are used including Duke of Cornwall, Improved Keswick, Tregonna King, Pig’s Nose, Snell’s Glass, Pear and Golden Noble.
The participants are enrolled on the Compass project, which is led by Cornwall council and partly financed by the European Social Fund. The scheme aims to help 1,800 young people aged 15 to 24 in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly find employment, education or training. Figures from the ONS released earlier this year showed that in the final quarter of 2022, the number of people aged 16 to 24 who were not in employment, education or training had risen to 11.5%, the highest figure in a decade.
David Aynsley, the Compass project officer at Eden, said: “Groups such as these demonstrate a huge, untapped workforce of highly talented people, who just need a little help and guidance to help them fulfill their potential.” Greer stated that the Apple Academy was indicative of the wider work being carried out by Eden, remarking that “food is such a powerful medium to demonstrate what can be achieved when we come together”.
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