The apple of Wascana Centre's eye: new fruit orchard to diversify trees, feed community

Regina's Wascana Centre is known for its tranquillity and habitat for many animal species. But it will soon boast another feature: access to fresh fruit.

The Provincial Capital Commission, which oversees operation of the park, began growing fruit crops like apples, cherries, pears and plums in its tree nursery in 2020.

In 2021, it transplanted those crops from the nursery into a space about a hectare in size along Hillsdale Street, near 23rd Avenue.

Planting the orchard has long been a dream for Derek Barr. The supervisor of forestry and pest control for the PCC said he wanted to create a food source and diversify the tree species in the park.

"There's a lot of options of fruit trees that we haven't grown in the past," said Barr. "So now we get to have more variety of trees in our canopy."

Most of the fruit trees were purchased from nurseries in Alberta and Manitoba. Barr said it takes two to three years for most of the trees to establish their roots and produce fruit.

The fruit should be ready for harvest by the end of next summer. Barr said the plan is to donate some of it to the Regina and District Food Bank.

"As we experienced with the COVID [pandemic] and the food shortages that it created, it's nice to have a local source where people can enjoy locally-produced food," he said.

John Bailey, the food bank's CEO, said sourcing locally-grown food is a major goal for his organization. The orchard will also help get food where it's needed.

"We process ... about 12,000 pounds of food out the door everyday to residents of Regina," said Bailey.

"Fresh produce and fruit is an incredibly important part of what we get to people, so having additional supply of that will be really important."

More than a food source

Bailey said public education around food is a large part of what the food bank does, and the orchard will serve as another tool for that.

"Having product that's available ... and different techniques to share in an urban gardening sense is really important for us because food is such an important connector in our community," he said.

In addition to growing the fruit, Barr plans to use the orchard as a training ground to teach the public about proper pruning and harvesting techniques so they can plant their own fruit trees.

He's also excited about the use of native grasses in the orchard, which he says will require less irrigation and encourage more pollinating insects, like bees.

While Saskatchewan may not be well known for its lush fruit crops, Barr hopes the orchard will change that perspective. 

"In the Prairies, a lot of people don't know that we can grow such a variety of trees, and I'd like to show the public what we can actually grow."