[ BLOG EXAMPLE ] Planting Long-Term Resilience: Jealous Fruits
Published on: April 28 2026 Categories: Agricultural Water Infrastructure Program, Enhanced Replant Program, Food Security Initiative
When wildfire surrounded one of their orchards in 2021 and an extremely cold winter reduced their crop in 2024, the need to adapt became clear for Jealous Fruits. Through the Agricultural Water Infrastructure Program (AWI) and the Enhanced Replant Program (ERP), the Okanagan cherry producer is investing in water security and rebuilding orchards to strengthen long-term resilience.
“We did have one of our orchards in 2021 impacted by the White Rock Lake fire,” said David Geen, owner of Jealous Fruits. “The orchard did not burn, but it was surrounded by fire on three sides, and we simply couldn’t get in there to harvest the crop.”
Although the orchard was spared, the experience highlighted how vulnerable farms can be to extreme events. An on-site reservoir, originally built to manage irrigation, became a critical resource during the emergency.
“We were thankful that we had a reservoir on site. The firefighters were able to use that as a source of water to fight the fire, which helped save my farm, but also many of my neighbors’.”
The wildfire also affected the surrounding watershed. With forest loss influencing runoff patterns for the tributary creek, Jealous Fruits began planning additional water storage. Through AWI a second reservoir is being built to capture spring flows and support irrigation later in the growing season.
“The necessity for that second reservoir was driven partly by climate change, but also the loss of much of the forest in the watershed that feeds our farm.”
Wildfire and drought are not the only challenges being faced across the region. In 2024, extreme cold led to a significantly reduced crop and damage.
“It would have been pretty challenging for us this year, given the fact that we’re coming off an extremely short crop in 2024.”
Jealous Fruits is replanting approximately 120 acres, with ERP supporting about 50 of those acres.
Together, investments in water infrastructure and perennial crop renewal are helping Jealous Fruits strengthen its operations and support the long-term sustainability of cherry production in the Okanagan.
The Agricultural Water Infrastructure Program and the Enhanced Replant Program are funded by the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC.
