School telling us to remove nut trees from community orchard

[Calling]

We are in a local voluntary group and local people planted an orchard in the grounds of a school, for the school.

Now, the school has written to say that we have to remove the nut trees because one pupil has a bad nut allergy.

There are fruit and nut trees, that the local people planted some years ago and we have put a lot of work into weeding and watering. The yield was actually for the kids and we are volunteering with the school with and nature sessions outside.

Before anyone says we are potential child killers, we do understand the importance of safety. There is a management plan in place, but the school has been asked by a parent to remove our trees.
I do feel disheartened - nobody in the school said no to nut trees originally.

Yes both my children have had anaphylaxis from skin contact to cows milk
Noone ever suggests banning other students from having milk/cheese /yoghurt.
In fact there seems to still be a complete lack of understanding in schools about the dangers of cows milk

One thing I'm sure we can agree on is that more education is clearly needed around allergies and intolerances, the differences and the different things people can be severely and life threateningly allergic (not intolerant) too.

i actually think banning milk on planes if someone travelling had a severe allergy would be reasonable since it's a teeny tiny amount of anyone's life/time and medical help would not be easy to access. I'm not sure they always ban nuts on flights though?

Is it even a general nut allergy or a peanut allergy which isnt a nut but a legume and would include banning all legumes in all food areas?

It’s not possible to ban milk on planes, are babies to be denied formula etc? Yet I’ve been on several flights where nuts have been banned. Again it comes down to one allergy being seen as more severe despite evidence proving nut particles do not cause reactions and it’s direct contact only.

Why is it less achievable than a nut free schools? Milk allergies cause more deaths.

I think it’s fair enough that you feel like this. I think the School have mishandled it. If they had come to you and said “we’re really sorry but we’re going to have to remove those nut trees, we hope that doesn’t affect you supporting us with other trees and events in the future”, you probably wouldn’t be so disheartened. But to have a missive from on high telling you that “you’ve got to remove them and you’ve got to find them new homes and you’ve got to replant them and then you’ve got to find something to go in their place…”. I can see why you feel underappreciated.

Loads of people telling you how unreasonable you are. If you asked for volunteers to help I bet very few parents would help. All the posters willing to pile in on you but would be nowhere if you asked them to do something. People quite happy to have a go a someone who volunteers to do good le in all probability doing nothing themselves.
I think the question is - is the nut tree a risk? No one seems to have answers, but I might have missed it.

On this basis what are they going to do, also ban all children having peanut butter on toast for breakfast before they come to school? Life is not entirely risk free. Are there any known cases of a child having a severe allergic reaction because another child was playing near a nut tree - where nuts are inside their shells? Never heard of such a thing occurring. Will the child not be going to any parks, national trust properties or on any school trips where there are trees? This is so over the top and really unreasonable to expect the OP to sort it out for them. They could simply fence off the Orchard and use it for learning/ a quiet space only for children who don’t have severe nut allergies (the vast majority).

A screenshot from the allergy UK website was posted saying nut trees are very low risk and can be made zero risk by preventing them fruiting with a canopy. Anaphylaxis UK also advises against nut free schools as a false sense of security makes people less aware of allergy safe techniques and it’s impossible to guarantee no exposure even with nut free polices due to their presence in soaps, hand creams, breakfast cereals before school etc.

Completely agree, my child is severely allergic to cows milk and reacts on contact so could all the parents make sure their children don’t have milk on their cereal in the morning in case they spill some on their jumper or don’t wash their hands after etc.

Oh and no birthday cake brought in to school unless it’s milk free as the crumbs get everywhere. No chocolate at Christmas either in case sticky hands touch somewhere my child might touch.

In fact just to be safe, unless your bathing and washing everything your child is wearing afterwards maybe no cake or chocolate at home either just be make absolutely sure. Don’t worry they can have them in the school holidays so that’s fine surely?

And that farm visit for the class best be cancelled as well, what if the cows have been recently milked and they are traces around still?

People only see how insane it is when you swap nuts for another severe allergy. They think nuts are ‘optional’ for those with dairy allergies they make up a huge part of their diet however.

Yes, I definitely agree with the first statement. And I would say there are also even people claiming intolerances where they mean preferences.

And you may well be right in saying this is why the facts around the real allergies get lost. I knew nut allergies, egg allergies and even some fruit allergies can be very severe but had always thought dairy fell into more of an intolerance category. Mostly, I guess, because you hear the term "lactose intolerant" so much.

Imagine trying to make a school milk free! Milk is in so many more things than nuts are! That really would restrict the diets of the other children!

If you have have an allergy then the allergy has to be managed by you, not getting everyone around you to modify their lives and the environment for you.

This modification is just going to leave more children with allergies in the future!

A nut free school can't have nut trees. Someone missed a step in thinking that this might come up.

What you do is get the cost of getting the trees professionally removed and disposed of and present the school with a quotation. Then you will find the removal less dispiriting because you don't have to do the work.

With my fundraising hat on, I would offer the trees for sale to the parents. Mature trees are not cheap.

I think presenting a quote for professional removal and suggest they compare with a quote for fencing would work.

I accept that - and when I’m with my child, I manage risks rather than expecting anyone to change their behaviour. But I’m also very grateful when people do make accommodations, are inclusive at parties, nuts aren’t served on our flights etc. We eat his allergens at home and don’t go OTT about risk, but that’s our judgment and our decision. Also, in the dining hall at school, with the right processes, my kid eats in an environment full of multiple allergens and (with some nervousness) I trust them to keep him safe. But nuts littering the ground in a playground, when there’s not a clear approach to managing exposure (and knowing what kids can be like, both mine and others - he’s only 4 after all) I’m so much less comfortable!

Most children will walk to school past nut trees, they will have them on their shoes, they might put acorns in their pocket et. Common trees like oak and beech are technically nuts.

Also - in terms of modifications - they happen all the time. Our school offers halal and vegetarian options every day to meet cultural/dietary preferences. Yet, my child is told that some days there isn't an option for him. Which makes me cross because we can’t practice inclusion as a school only some of the time, or for some groups only.

Can I ask if you eat his allergens at home why do you expect other people to cater for the allergen on planes etc?

As I have said a few times my daughter is severely CMPA allergic, her school proposed going nut free once, never suggested dairy free however. I raised an objection as many dairy substitutes contain nut milks so a nut free school for a dairy allergic child leaves them very restricted, yet you’re own family aren’t even restricting their own diet?

I would never expect strangers to do more to keep my child safe than I am willing to do myself. And in fact I have never asked for any environment to be dairy free and we teach my child the dangers, we do have a dairy free home however. I think the one place she should be allowed to switch off and relax is her own home.

But Op doesn't know that it's a child's life at risk. That's what she needs to find out.

I'm allergic to conifer trees. I react from just a slight brush against them at times. I would try to avoid going past, but my life is not at risk.

I've known someone anaphylactic allergic to milk. They reacted to touch or eating. This included milk cooked eg in cakes. Their school still did milk for infants at break time. There are lots of allergies that are managed round schools, not just nut ones.

My dd did a group with a child who was allergic to water. Yes, I didn't believe it too, when she told me, but she got major hives from contact with water as I saw one time when it was raining. Even a splash of water from a child carelessly washing hands as she walked past (with her hand gel) from the toilet, could make her look like she'd been scalded.

My brother had serious allergies back in the 80s, and by 4yo he knew that if someone offered him any food to ask to check the ingredients and if they didn't have it to hand, to refuse. The stuff he was allergic to was very widespread back then.

It's not the case that the Op is saying that she doesn't care if a child's life is at stake, she's working out whether this is a knee jerk reaction that someone who doesn't know the child's medical history or whether it is someone who does have a serious concern.
It is perfectly reasonable for the OP, who has put a lot of time, effort and money into this, to question whether it's necessary, because it may well not be. I get the impression from her comments that she is more than prepared to do it if it is a risk, but, as removing the trees will take considerable extra effort on top of the hours she's already put it, it's more than reasonable that she checks that it is something that is needed and not an assumption from someone who doesn't actually know.

How old are the trees? And how big?
I would have thought giving them away would be fairly easy if they aren’t massive. Or selling them cheaply.
The digging up sounds like the hard part.
How many other trees will be left?
I can understand why you are disheartened.

Because dairy products are a valuable source of nutrients in the vast majority of children's diets, even more important if they are vegetarian.

Nuts are also important in vegetarian diets.

That shouldn't happen, there should be an option for him. Especially if he's entitled to a free school dinner.

Especially for vegans.

true but a babies bottle of milk isn't the same risk as a entire plane full of diary. I don't know what you want here really, you constantly ask why milk can't be banned too then when someone says yeah sure ban it in x place, state yourself why it can't be banned. Confusing.