The shovel is in the ground of the new orchard of the fruit tree club in Gieterveen. So that there is a traffic-safe place for both the pear trees and the pear pickers. And the educational nature playground next to it should also be ready this summer. The club has transferred the maintenance of the 180 pear trees in and around the village to the municipality.
For years, the fruit tree club took care of all the pear trees in the village. From picking to pruning. The association life was supported from the money raised by the pears, the juice and the cooking pears. But for the fruit tree club, the fun was increasingly lost due to the nagging of some people about the pear trees in the countryside.
Several residents complained to the municipality of Aa en Hunze about the low-hanging branches of the pear trees. Farmers in particular found it difficult in some places to drive their large agricultural vehicles past the trees without sustaining damage.
A harvest day was not without danger for the pear pickers, because not everyone drove more calmly when the fruit tree club was busy with picking or maintenance along or on the road. And when a farmer himself put the saw in a few pear trees, the club was faint.
But the fruit tree club has the fun again. And in harmony with the village. Stichting Het Drentse Landschap makes a piece of land on the west side of the village available for a fruit orchard. The first trees went into the ground today. Apart from pear trees, plums, sweet chestnuts and cherries are also planted. Fruit bushes such as blackberries and raspberries will be added later. Free picking for the village.