We are a mixed fruit and vegetable farm growing on around 4 acres in Devine, British Columbia. The farm is owned and operated by Riley Peterson and Olivia Kester. We grow a variety of fruit including apples, cherries, plums, pears, melons, strawberries and a variety of vegetables. We believe in caring for the land in a way that keeps our soils, water, pollinators and customers healthy. We are certified organic through PACS (#: 16-895) which means that we are growing according to the organic standards in caring for the land and our crops.

Back in 1977, Riley’s grandparents Audrey and Warner Oberson bought this beautiful piece of land and created a homestead for themselves in their retirement. They planted dozens of fruit trees and had a large garden where we are now growing our melons and berries and other ground crops. It is thanks to them that we have an amazing opportunity to farm in this beautiful place.

Riley and Olivia met in the summer of 2017 while working on separate farms in the Pemberton Valley. We met through a mutual friend, and over the course of a few social gatherings and strong IPAs bonded over our love for the outdoors, farming and strategy board games. In 2018, Riley started what is now Blackwater Creek Orchard and Olivia helped out on the side here and there. The 2019 season was when Olivia officially came on board and when we began expanding the orchard in earnest. In addition to reviving the trees that are already on the orchard, we have added an additional 200 fruit trees in the modern tall spindle style and have increased our ground crops by 1/4 an acre. In the future we are planning to add even more trees as we phase out our older trees and clear land for new plots.

Riley Peterson

Riley Peterson grew up in Squamish British Columbia where he fell in love with the woods and the magic of growing things. From a young age Riley loved to garden and would spend many days and weeks up at his grandparents homestead helping out on the orchard. After highschool Riley spent five years in Victoria where he split his time tree planting and attaining a degree in geography and environmental studies from the University of Victoria. Whether it was all the time spent outdoors tree planting, or all the time spent studying native plants in university, Riley got the itch to start growing and producing food. So there was no hesitation when the opportunity arose to take over the old family homestead.

Olivia Kester

Olivia grew up in Ottawa far away from farmland, although her grandparents had a homestead in Quebec where she would spend many of her summers. She studied Environmental Sciences at STFX University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. It was during this time that she got a summer job as a tree planter working up in northern BC. Here she fell in love with working outside (and the BC mountains), but it wasn’t until she started WWOOFing as a cheap way to travel that she fell in love with farming. Olivia has volunteered on farms in France and South America and worked on organic vegetable farms both in Ottawa at Roots and Shoots and in Pemberton at Rootdown.

Lopie and Rose

Our farm dog Rose and farm cat Lopie round out our crew. Rose’s main duties are herding away the free range cows that always find the weak spot in our fences and barking at any slightest sound. She is working on learning how to walk only in the pathways and to stay off the crops. Lopie is our resident mouser and a curious little cat, but he would also be just as happy to sleep inside all day. Both animals like to follow us around and keep tabs that we are working hard and producing the best quality food.