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.

I do understand the range of work involved in replacing trees, yes.
I don't know how big these specific trees are, having not been there.

It's a tree in school grounds. There's probably 1 adult to anything between 40-60+ kids every break/lunch. It's not remotely the same as when a parent is in the park or walking down the road with their child/family.

Where has anyone said that a tree was more important than a child's life? Kindly quote the words. Nobody can. It is a ridiculous thing to suggest.
Where have I said I refuse to remove the trees (by whoever)?
And how on earth do you leap to nobody caring about the vulnerable?

Well since you’re volunteers, presumably they can’t make you.

But I do think it was a bit odd to plant a nut tree along a school field in the first place tbh.

Cutting down the tree isn’t following current allergy advice.

Anyway, thanks for the sensible comments on here - lots to think about really, in wider terms.

Yes, we would not have spent many hours on the offending trees, had the school told us in the first place. But we are where we are.

What about the park?

What about the tree next door?

What about Squirrel Nutkin?

You seem to be implying Oh well, if it’s just one kid that dies that’s okay then?
OP I wish, for just one day, you could live as the parent of a child with a life threatening allergy.
I just want to scream, “IT’S A CHILD’S LIFE AT RISK”.
Do you think the parents/school want this allergy? Do you think they don’t wish every single day that they were healthy? They are already suffering every day - every bite of food they take involves stress and anxiety- why wouldn’t you immediately try and help them in any way you could?
Put yourself in their shoes. Can you imagine what it’s like?

Yes, what shall we do about all nut trees and squirrels? The heartless things.

Then it could cause an injury if thrown, I suppose.

Our school removed a nut tree for the same reason. New allergies guidelines for school were produced this year. I haven’t read them but maybe this is why.

Edited for grammar

The school will probably insist on the trees going, to cover their arses. As a volunteer I’d be damned if I’d agree to having to provide the labour for it though. Bloody school should at least cover the cost.

This is ridiculous - every footpath around here is lined by hazel trees! I'm forever pulling up volunteer plants from my garden.

There is no realistic way of removing the risk to this child other than by teaching them not to go near the trees.

That must be terrible for parents and they must already suffer so much with worry. One child suffering is one too many.

Nut trees are not a danger though. Perhaps google it and learn some immunology 🤷🏼‍♀️

Planting trees is not very hard. You could always refuse to plant more, but it would be a shame. Can you put nature friendly trees, crabapples etc in?
I agree the kids will do very little to help, perhaps the head needs an invitation for a bit of digging, as it’s their grand idea.

I get the parental worry but we can’t make the world nut free. So what is the answer?

Yes - as a general question, how far should we go?

Surely the first thing to establish is whether the trees themselves - their bark, leaves, flowers or nuts in the shell - are a risk to the child. It's also worth establishing which nuts the child is allergic to - many people with a nut allergy are allergic to specific nuts e.g. walnuts and pecans, but not chestnuts.

WTF is a ‘nature friendly tree’

This thread is nuts.

Nature Friendly Trees, FFS.

How did it come to this?

Benedict’s Law isn’t telling schools to go nut free.

Of course not but absolutely yes in schools where there are many young children with no parental/close supervision. Particularly as the trees are in an area of the fields and accessible to the children. Supervision of children at break/lunch is nowhere near 1:1.

No, but would you plant wheat along the edge of the children's playground? Why would you do that? Who told you all to plant nut trees on school property? I get that nuts "come in a hard shell" but the shells break and expose the nuts. If the children are playing in the area then it is entirely possible that they will get nut residue on their hands, shoes, clothes, and that the allergic child may have a reaction. At school. Which is a place they are legally required to be.

I'm agnostic, to some extent, to whether the nut trees should be uprooted but I think this was foreseeable and it's not hugely surprising that you are being asked to remove the trees.