By Chantal Boudreau, member of the Environment Committee
Summer is in full swing, which means harvest season is here!
As a more established neighbourhood in Orléans, Convent Glen-Orléans Wood has a lot of fruit and nuts trees. If you’ve got a keen eye, you might have noticed plums, serviceberries, mulberries, sour cherries and even some apples were ripe in June and July. The photo on the left is of a sour cherry tree harvested this year, right here in Orléans. A group of volunteers hand-picked over 25lbs of sour cherries, most harvesting cherries for the first time.
As we move into August and the Fall, we’re heading into pear, grape, elderberries, apples, crabapple and Ginkgo nut season. Joining a Hidden Harvest event is a great way to learn about fruit and nut trees that grow in our area, while harvesting it in a safe way.
If you’ve been reading the newsletter for a while, you might recall that last Summer, I became a Neighbourhood Leader with Hidden Harvest (more on them below!). I’d participated in harvests with them before and enjoyed how accessible they were. There’s no experience required, all specialized equipment is provided, and there’s something everyone can help with, such as picking or sorting the harvest. As a neighbourhood leader, it’s been rewarding to help people discover the joy of harvesting fruit, and sharing the harvest among the tree stewards, volunteers and local community partners. It’s a wonderful way to improve food sovereignty and for people to give back to their communities.
So what is Hidden Harvest?
Hidden Harvest, now a part of EnviroCentre, has been working since 2012 to ensure more food gets used by the community. Hidden Harvest hosts free harvests, providing the resulting fruit to community partner organizations, the tree owner and harvest volunteers. In 2025, Hidden Harvest volunteers picked over 11,000 lbs of food, donating nearly 7,000 lbs to local community partners, including food banks!
Why is this important?
Food insecurity is a big issue in Ottawa; Ottawa Public Health estimates approximately a quarter of all households in Ottawa experience food insecurity.Between 2018 and 2023, the average monthly food bank visits per 1,000 residents increased by 69% across the entire City, and increased by 83% in Convent Glen – Orléans Woods specifically (See Ottawa Neighbourhood Study Food Bank Dashboard).
The City of Ottawa has over 17,000 fruit and nut trees on city property; this does not count the number of fruit and nut trees on private property. When fruit is not harvested in time, it will often fall to the ground, and end up in yard waste bags headed to the landfill. This is a problem as organic waste that ends up in the landfill generates more methane than if it had been consumed or composted (ECCC).
By reducing food waste, initiatives like Hidden Harvest address the social, physical and environmental impacts of food insecurity and food waste.
Want to get involved?
Sign up as a Harvest volunteer! Once you sign up, you’ll get notifications for upcoming harvests in the areas of the City you’d like, but please note that spots on harvests are filled on a first come, first served basis and they can fill up quickly! If you’re looking to help make more harvests happen, then consider becoming a neighbourhood leader too!
If you have a fruit or nut tree, consider registering it today! If you don’t own a tree, but know someone who does, encourage them to look into Hidden Harvest. In addition to providing food to the community, tree owners receive a share of the harvests, and get the added bonus of having less fruits and nuts on the ground to deal with. It’s a win-win-win!
Don’t have a tree but want one? Consider signing up with the Trees in Trust or Plant Your Place. There are several great fruit and nut producing tree options available. As they say, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now!
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