BROOKINGS, S.D. – A Brookings-area Master Gardener is donating apple trees to local youth for the sixth annual Fruitful Children Project.
Qualifying youth will receive a bare-root, semi-dwarf Honeycrisp apple tree. Distribution will happen at 6:30 p.m. CDT on April 25, 2025, and at 1:30 p.m. CDT on April 26 at the Brookings County Outdoor Adventure Center.
Reservations are recommended to ensure availability. To reserve an apple tree, email perbar4@swiftel.net with which distribution date the youth recipient will attend and their grade level.
The annual project, held in conjunction with Arbor Day, is sponsored by SDSU Extension Master Gardener Perry Johnson and provides an opportunity for children and youth to experience the benefits of planting and caring for an apple tree.
There is a mandatory 30-minute orientation at distribution to help youth recipients accept responsibility for caring for the trees. As part of their orientation, youth will be provided with age-appropriate information about apple trees.
After the orientation, the child will receive a tree, a Honeycrisp owner’s manual and a copy of the children’s story “The Sharing Tree: Toni’s Journey”. Local Master Gardeners also will be available at distribution to answer questions.
To qualify, children must be 6 to 12 years old and have an adult sponsor to support the child as they care for the tree. Youth are encouraged to name their tree to promote ownership. Johnson said the trees can grow up to 25 feet tall and should start producing apples when the youth are in high school.
Since its inception, the project has distributed 200 trees in the Brookings community. It is held close to Arbor Day each year and hopes to instill youth with a lifelong passion for planting trees.
For more information, contact Perry Johnson, SDSU Extension Master Gardener, at perbar4@swiftel.net.
