Life is good in Batlow with a basket full of apples

St Mary’s Primary School students (left to right) Amara, Charlotte, Ari and Elizabeth had a delicious time picking apples at Montague Orchard.

When you live in Batlow, you pick apples!

That was the lesson for Kinder, Year 1 and Year 2 students at St Mary’s Primary School when they visited Montague Orchard to put in a hard day’s work.

Teacher Elizabeth Murray said the Kinder, Year 1 and 2 children excelled in demonstrating the twisting technique required to ensure that the apple stem remains with the apple to stop microorganisms entering the fruit.

“The joy on the children’s faces as they gathered apples was priceless!” she said.

“They skipped down the rows, laughing with delight and beamed huge smiles as they carefully carried the fruit to be placed gently in the baskets. When we returned to school, the apples were washed and shared among the students to take home. They were delicious!”

Climbing in and out of the wooden apple bins, the students were amazed to see how high the apples could be stacked during the excursion, which was organised to complement their investigation of ‘Places’ in Geography.

“The class had been researching towns that are famous for produce, such as Coffs Harbour with ‘The Big Banana’, Adaminaby with ‘The Big Trout’ and Goulburn with ‘The Big Merino,’ Mrs Murray explained.

“Batlow is known for apple production and has a ‘Big Apple’ near the entrance to town. So, what better place to focus on than our local area and understand the importance of the apple industry.”

Apples have been grown in Batlow since 1900, and in 1922 the Batlow Fruit Co-operative was formed to help local growers market their fruit.

Rachel Galvin, Montague Orchard manager and St Mary’s school parent, explained the growth cycle of an apple tree and the seasonal work required by all the orchard employees to produce a heathy crop.

During the walking tour, she demonstrated how new apple trees are grafted onto the rootstock, how the orchard is irrigated, and how apple trees are splayed to enable fruit pickers to reach the fruit without using ladders.

“Batlow is renowned for apples, so I think it is imperative that kids learn about apples and how they are grown,” she said.

“Montague is a national orchard, and in Victoria, we have just rolled out a program to teach young kids about sustainability and where their fruit comes from, so for me to be able to do that with a local school, I just embrace that. It is great that the kids get involved and understand it.”

Mrs Murray said students were engaged throughout the session, asking questions about the apple varieties and machinery involved in apple production and harvesting.

“They were keen to learn about forklifts, tractors and other machinery used in the orchards,” she said.

“It was a fabulous learning experience for both the students and the staff. We are very grateful to Mrs Galvin for sharing her skills and knowledge and ensuring the class learnt about the importance of the place they call home – Batlow.”