The Wadams Farm is still bearing fruit for Sooke.
For over 100 years, the Wadams' property on Church Road was home to some trees, fields and a modest farmhouse. Today it’s home to one of Sooke’s latest housing developments.
But thanks to the work of Glen Thelin and the Sunriver Heritage and Demonstration Orchard (SHDO), a small piece of the property's history will get to live on.
“I got a call from the District of Sooke three years ago. They informed me that the house and all the vegetation were being taken out of that property for development,” said Thelin, the orchardist and manager for SHDO, who recently planted a new tree salvaged from the Wadams' property at the orchard.
“If there was anything that I thought was of horticultural value there, I was welcome to go onto the property and take whatever (I could) before the bulldozer came.”
So Thelin dropped by and collected cuttings from an apple tree near the farmhouse. He then grafted five cuttings onto some rootstock, and despite the less-than-ideal conditions at that time of year, two of them were able to take and live on.
“I think it's important to save some of the historic trees that have been planted by the early residents of Sooke,” said Thelin.
“If they’re taken out and bulldozed, we lose that variety, and it might be a really old variety that we want to keep in circulation.”
Thelin explained that at SHDO, they’re frequently able to save some of these older varieties of trees that once propagated in Sooke.
While Thelin and SHDO can’t always seek out older trees that need to be salvaged, they encourage developers and city officials to reach out when they encounter something that may be worth saving.
“When I get the call, I'll be there. If people think a tree has some importance and is going to be removed, they can track me down.”
Though Thelin doesn’t yet know what variety the apple tree will be, he said they’ll be able to identify and name it once it produces fruit.
The tree was in the community orchard on Earth Day, April 22.
“It’s really great to walk through our orchard, which is now 14 years old, and to see some of these trees that came from farms, from residents where the parent tree no longer exists, but we have it at our orchard.”
When SDHO holds its apple festival, residents can wander the orchard and learn more about the heritage trees and the region's ecological history.
This year’s apple festival will be held Sept. 21, with SHDO offering fruit for sale, kids’ games, activities and other vendors. Some popular apple tree varieties grafted by orchard volunteers will also be on sale.
