The Pear Tree

I’ve been meaning to visit the Gellatly Nut Farm, in West Kelowna, for years. Years! Finally, late last month, I did it, with two adventuresome kids and my mum in tow.

Located on Witworth Road, just off Gellatly Road on the lake-level of West Kelowna, the farm – or orchard might also be accurate – dates back to between 1905 and 1920. Apparently, it was saved from the well-meaning ambitions of a developer in 1998, when nearby residents came together to veto an application to turn the farm into a lakeside condo resort and marina. The area was designated a regional park and opened as the Gellatly Nut Farm in 2005.

Nuts can be harvested and purchased by visitors, but many people we saw just come to stroll the serpentine pathways which wind themselves between the trees.

We couldn’t resist picking up a few nuts, just to give the kids a chance to try it. I think it’s important for them to learn first hand where their food comes from (i.e. not just the supermarket or farmer’s market).

They had more fun scouring around the trees than an Easter egg hunt. And I had fun capturing the action with my camera.

They also learned how to open nuts without a nutcracker, thanks to the expertise of my nutophile mum. I’m not fussy about fresh nuts myself, but my kids just gobbled them up.

Incidentally, you know that poem, “here we go gathering nuts in May?” I’m not sure what that’s all about – nuts are harvested in the fall. “On a cold and frosty morning.”

- Words and photos by Lori-Anne Poirier

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