Home Hardware has planted the seeds for what promises to be a greener future for the Meadow Lake Co-op Centre. Recently, Home Hardware staff members joined community volunteers and representatives from Tree Canada to plant a number of trees and other plants outside the community’s newly opened recreation complex.
“We’re doing a Tree Canada and Home Hardware sponsored tree plant,” explained Robin S. Adair, a Tree Canada forestry specialist, when interviewed last Wednesday (Sept. 24). “Connie (Marsh-Yuhasz), Don (Marsh) and the folks from Meadow Lake Home Hardware put in a grant application to get about $3,200 to $3,300 worth of plants in the ground. And, they chose the new rink here as the location.” Adair went on to say Home Hardware is one of Tree Canada’s biggest sponsors nation-wide, and, for more than 30 years, this partnership has resulted in more than 33,000 trees being planted across the country in schoolyards, community parks and conservation areas, and in areas that require restoration following wildfires, tornados and other weather-related events.
As for the Meadow Lake project, Adair said it was made possible not only by the local Home Hardware store’s interest in applying for the grant, but also by Meadow Lake city council which gave the go-ahead for the trees to be planted outside the Co-op Centre. “We have a couple people form the city’s parks and recreation department, Home Hardware brought about eight or nine people, and students from Transition Place Education Centre (TPEC) are also here helping out,” Adair added. “They (Home Hardware) applied, the city agreed to get everything prepped and ready to go, and now the rink has some free trees.” A wide range of plants now adorn the front lawn of the facility.
“We’ve got some edible trees, so people can come pick apples and prairie cherries, native Saskatoons, things like that,” Adair said. “We’ve got a couple silver maples out front, which will give some shade. With climate change, we need to start getting people thinking about planting deciduous trees that will lose their leaves in winter and let heat in, but, in summer, keep things cool. We also have some ninebarks here for some colour and some drought tolerant Karl Foerster grasses, which, once they start to grow, won’t need much in the way of maintenance. We have a good variety of plants.”
Marsh-Yuhasz, who also serves as a member of Meadow Lake city council, said it’s great to get some colour outside the Co-op Centre before winter hits. “We can add to it in the springtime with some grass, and it should be a beautiful place for people to picnic outside our complex,” she said. “We’re just really glad we were able to get the grant from Home Hardware in collaboration with Tree Canada, and for the city agreeing to allow us to plant here. It was a lot of fun, and nice to have Robin pick out trees right for our zone. We had our own staff who came, including two who came on their day off. City staff was helping prep beforehand, Louis Hebert (of Hebert Skidsteer) is here helping out as well, TPEC came, which was great, and Shercom Industries donated the rubber edging (to put around the plants). I am excited to see how things grow from here.” In closing, Adair echoed much of what Marsh-Yuhasz had to say.
“There’s a lot of work still to come,” he said. “The city has to keep these alive. They need to water them fairly religiously here until freeze up and again next spring. I understand there are plans for some grass to go in, walkways, picnic tables, a whole bunch of things This is just the start of it, but it’s going to look good.”