William discovers another type of agricultural land use - growing fruit in orchards.
The video
William Whiskerson, mouse explorer. Finds adventure, 'round every corner. Where will he go? Who will he meet? His amazing adventures, will make you squeak. William Whiskerson, mouse explorer.
Narrator: Here comes William Whiskerson in his amazing traveling globe.
William Whiskerson: Greetings, adventurers. I am William Whiskerson, the famous mouse explorer.
Narrator: Today William is in the countryside. He can see trees and fields all around him. But which part of the United Kingdom is he in today?
William Whiskerson: Cheese Phone, reveal my location.
Narrator: The Cheese Phone shows William where he is on a map of the world.
Cheese phone: Hello, William. Today you're in a county called Kent, in the southeast of England.
William Whiskerson: Look. I've got a message coming through on my Cheese Phone.
Lucy: Hello, William. My name's Lucy and this is my sister Laura. Why don't you come with us on an orchard adventure?
William Whiskerson: That sounds like an amazing adventure. Lock the location, Cheese Phone.
Narrator: The map shows William where to meet Lucy and Laura.
William Whiskerson: Explorers away.
Narrator: Lucy and Laura are at an orchard. An orchard is a place where fruit is grown. Fruit can grow on trees, bushes, and on plants near the ground. William meets the explorers at a part of the orchard where berries are grown.
William Whiskerson: Pleased to squeak you, Lucy and Laura.
Lucy and Laura: Pleased to squeak you, William.
William Whiskerson: Look at all those plants. Why are they all in rows?
Lucy: Because there's different types of fruit.
William Whiskerson: Oh, so is there a different type in each row?
Lucy and Laura: Yes.
William Whiskerson: Oh, I see.
Narrator: The rows of plants are full of different types of berries. Berries and fruit are full of vitamins. They're very good for you, as well as being delicious. Lucy and Laura show William all the berries that are grown in the orchard.
Laura: These are blackcurrants.
Lucy: And these are redcurrants.
Laura: These are blackberries.
William Whiskerson: Oh, they look tasty. What can you make with blackberries?
Laura: Blackberry jam.
William Whiskerson: Blackberry jam? What else?
Laura: Blackberry pie.
William Whiskerson: Blackberry pie.
William Whiskerson: Oh, what could we have blackberry jam on?
Laura: Toast.
William Whiskerson: Blackberry jam on toast, squeak-a-licious.
Narrator: The fruit in the orchard needs lots of sunlight and water to grow. When fruit is fully grown and ready to be eaten, we say it is ripe.
William Whiskerson: What are these ones, Lucy and Laura?
Lucy and Laura: They're raspberries.
William Whiskerson: I never knew there were so many different types of berries.
Laura: There's still lots more to see, William.
Narrator: The explorers show William a part of the orchard where fruit is grown on trees.
Narrator: William meets Graham, the fruit farmer.
Lucy: Hello, Graham.
Graham: Hello, girls.
Lucy: William, this is our friend Graham.
William Whiskerson: Pleased to squeak you, Graham.
Graham: Pleased to squeak you, William.
William Whiskerson: What fruit are these?
Graham: These are called cherries.
William Whiskerson: Why are these trees in special tents?
Graham: These are polytunnels.
Narrator: Polytunnels shelter the trees from the weather and from animals, such as birds and insects like slugs that might eat the fruit and leaves. Some trees grow in polytunnels all year round.
William Whiskerson: Wow. Look at all these cherries.
Narrator: These cherries are in the polytunnels to protect them from the rain. If the cherries have too much water, they grow too large and their skins burst. Farmers call this splitting.
Graham: Here's some that weren't covered.
William Whiskerson: Oh!
Narrator: Can you see where they've split?
William Whiskerson: It looks like they've gone, "Pop!"
Narrator: Lucy and Laura show William where the apples are grown in the orchard. In the apple field, they all help Graham to thin the apple trees. Thinning is where the smallest apples are picked from the trees, leaving the ones left behind to become big and juicy. The orchard has lots of other fruit which ripen through the seasons, including apricots and pears. This means there's always something to pick. Finally, Graham shows the explorers where the strawberries are grown.
William Whiskerson: What are we going to do now?
Laura: We can pick our own strawberries.
William Whiskerson: Really? Strawberries?
Narrator: Graham hands the explorers some punnets to put their strawberries in.
William Whiskerson: Strawberry pickers, away.
Narrator: Orchards like this one sometimes allow people to pick fruit for themselves. Then they pay for what they've picked and take it home to eat.
William Whiskerson: Can we eat the green ones?
Narrator: No, William. The green ones are not ripe, which means that they're not ready to eat. They're only ready to eat when they turn red. The berries in the orchard are safe to eat, but remember, some berries can be bad for you. Always ask a grown-up before you pick any berries to make sure they're safe to eat.
William Whiskerson: Ah, great. Our punnets are full. What are we gonna do with them now?
Lucy: Take them back to the shop.
William Whiskerson: Great. Explorers, away.
Narrator: The explorers make their way to the orchard shop to have the strawberries they've picked weighed. Inside the shop, there are other people buying fruit and vegetables from the orchard. William discovers that the shop sells other food that has been made and grown locally, like apple juice, vegetables, yummy jams, fresh eggs, and even William's favourite.
William Whiskerson: Cheese. Squeak-a-licious.
Narrator: The explorers also spot the different fruits they've seen on their orchard adventure.
Laura: Look, William. There's even more strawberries here.
William Whiskerson: There's gazillions of them.
Narrator: Lucy, Laura and William have their strawberries weighed so they can find out how much they cost.
William Whiskerson: That was a brilliant adventure.
Lucy: But it's not over yet, William.
Narrator: After his busy day at the orchard, Lucy and Laura invite William for a special cream tea.
William Whiskerson: Wow, what have we got here?
Laura: We've got scones with cream and strawberries, and some more scones with cream and strawberry jam.
William Whiskerson: Squeak-a-licious.
Narrator: The explorers tuck into their cream tea.
William Whiskerson: You've got cream on your lips.
Lucy: There you go, William. Here's a pot of jam.
William Whiskerson: Thank you. I'm gonna really enjoy tucking into that. I've had a brilliant day in the orchard. Squeak you later, Lucy and Laura.
Lucy and Laura: Squeak you later, William.
Narrator: Can you remember where William went today? William visited his friends Lucy and Laura at an orchard. Can you remember what was growing there? Berries, cherries, and apples. He even got to pick his own strawberries, and finished his adventure with a cream tea.
William Whiskerson: Time to fly, explorers. We're off on another adventure.
Narrator: See you soon, William.
Video summary
Download/print a transcript of the video.
William Whiskerson visits an orchard to learn about the different types of fruit that grow there.
He learns how they need sunlight and water to become ripe. He then picks some strawberries and visits the orchard shop where he discovers how the orchard fruit can be made into juice and jams.
This episode introduces children to another form of agricultural land use and how our food is produced.
Teacher Notes
After viewing the clip, ask the class: "Where have you seen fruit growing?"
Prompt pupils to think of places in the neighbourhood, such as gardens and allotments.
Pupils may also have seen blackberries in hedgerows and on waste ground.
Help the children locate Sittingbourne in Kent on a map. Can they find Orchard Farm?
Pupils could use Google Earth to take a closer look at the land around Sittingbourne.
Ask: "Can you spot any other orchards? How do you know that is what they are?"
Establish that orchards need plenty of open space for crops to grow.
The children might spot polytunnels, or trees set out in rows.
Pupils could check the labels on supermarket fruit to find out where it comes from.
Can they find any produce from Kent?
With your help, pupils could group and draw fruit that grows on trees, on bushes and on plants close to the ground.
This clip will be relevant for teaching Geography.
This topic appears in KS1/KS2 in England and Northern Ireland, Knowledge and Understanding of the World Foundation Phase in Wales and Early/1st/2nd levels in Scotland.
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