Free swimming lessons in Ense: What fruit has to do with it
In Ense, people are making juice from apples growing by the roadside – and using the juice to pay for swimming lessons for elementary school children.
Hendrik (9) and Lieven (10) are fully focused. The two boys from Ense are carefully making sure that all the apples on the conveyor belt to the apple press are in good condition. "We also collected apples at our school," says Hendrik proudly. This collecting is a part of harvest time for many children in Ense, including those in kindergarten and school.
The residents of Ense, both young and old, have collected tens of thousands of apples.
Sacks of apples are piled high in the square in front of the fire station. A mobile cider press is also set up here, pressing apples into juice. Residents of Ense keep coming and unloading tubs full of fruit from the trunk of their cars. The fruit comes from gardens, meadows, and roadsides.
Anger over leftover fruit
In the Soest district, there are an extremely large number of fruit trees along the roads. Harvesting the fruit is free. However, the fruit often simply falls to the ground, lies there, and becomes moldy. "On my way to house calls, I always drove over them and it annoyed me," says veterinarian Dr. Maren Neumann-Aukthun.
She decided to change that. And she got the local council and the German Red Cross on board. Together, they launched the initiative 15 years ago: all residents of Ense, young and old, were asked to collect apples. The appeal has been a success: every year, tens of thousands of apples are collected.
Apple juice sales benefit children's aid
All the apples, and a few pears for sweetness, are pressed. The finished juice is sold in three- and five-liter cartons in beverage stores and supermarkets. The proceeds benefit the Ense Children's Aid organization, which, among other things, funds a swimming school for elementary school children.
Thanks to the apple juice campaign and many other donations, the Ense Children's Aid organization can offer a wide range of activities: For example, there is a children's program throughout the entire summer holidays in the community. The organization also supports disadvantaged children. No child has to stay home for school trips.
The finished apple juice is sold to benefit the children's aid organization in Ense.
The initiator of the apple juice campaign is deeply touched by the response and the impact of her idea.
In the record year of 2022, the residents of Ense collected enough fruit for 12,000 liters of apple juice. This year's apple harvest isn't quite as abundant. Nevertheless, 5,800 liters were collected by the end of the day. Every liter helps to keep Ense a child-friendly place.