Red Rover cidery asks people to get 'scrumping for a cause'

Too many apples go to waste in New Brunswick, so why not make something from them. 

That's the thinking behind a partnership between a museum and a Fredericton cider house that encourages people to go "scrumping," the traditional word for stealing fruit from someone else's trees. 

Red Rover Craft Cider requested New Brunswickers venture into the fields, forests, and the city of Fredericton over the weekend to pick apples from trees whose apples would probably fall to the ground and rot. 

"Historically New Brunswick has been full of apple trees and apple orchards, so we want to help people access all the apples that would otherwise go to waste," said Nicola Mason a cider maker at Red Rover. 

Early in New Brunswick's history, apples played an important role in the provincial economy, according to Ruth Murgatroyd, the executive director of the Fredericton Region Museum

 "So this gets people out there, to see that these trees still exists from back when they were used," said Murgatroyd. 

"And it's a ton of fun."

Red Rover Craft Cider asked New Brunswickers to bring them two bushels of apples from any part of the province.

In return they would offer the choice of a bottle of their own cider, or the company would sell the beverage and donate the proceeds to the Fredericton Region Museum. 

"Even right here in Fredericton there are crabapples that are just kind of always underfoot," said Mason.

"We crush them down, press them, and we'll mix them with all the other different apples that we get to make a really unique cider." 

Mason said it's a way to reduce food wastage, and it gives people the chance to learn something about New Brunswick's history. 

The company originally requested apples to be brought to them over the weekend.

But Red Rover has extended their trade-in offer for another full week in response to the different types of apples that were brought in from so many different areas.