Trees were the focus of celebration at Morden Park on Sunday.

The community came together to appreciate trees, learn about their care, and have fun on Arbor Day. The festivities had something for everyone, including bucket rides to see the tree canopy from above, viewings of carved wood sculptures, free trees, planting and pruning demonstrations, and free hot dogs. The event had activities catered to adults and children.

Shawn Dias, a certified arborist and the chair of the Manitoba Urban Forest Council, is responsible for bringing the Arbor Day celebrations to Morden.

"The city of Winnipeg has been putting on Arbor Day events for quite a few years...so we thought we'd join in...since Morden really treasures its tree canopy and enjoys the park". For Dias, what is most enjoyable about the event is "seeing everybody...asking questions, being engaged [and] walking around with free trees... it's bringing a whole bunch of like-minded people together in[to] the same place and just enjoying the day".

Dias was pleased with the turnout for this year's Arbor Day.

Local businesses offered their services at Sunday's event. Jason Wiebe, one of the owners of One, Two, Tree Service in Morden, gave attendees the opportunity to see the tree canopy from a different perspective with bucket rides above the trees. Wiebe noted that it was a great day for the activity because the weather held up well and that the "kids really loved the...rides".

Those who preferred to keep their feet on the ground had the opportunity to view carved wood sculptures by Barry Dueck, who is a local chainsaw artist. Dueck says that his passion is to create "something beautiful" from material that might otherwise be discarded. For Dueck, the Arbor Day event is "always a nice opportunity just to be able to talk to people. Usually I'm carving and I don't get a chance to talk to anybody, so this year, we decided not to start up the saw and just take a little time for everybody coming through so they can have a look and get to ask questions". Dueck is often asked if he sees a sculpture hiding in a piece of wood: "The answer is...not usually. Usually, I pick a piece of wood that can fit what I want to make".

Dueck's sculptures clearly left an impression on the attendees of the Arbor Day celebration. Tamar Gordon-Stoesz said that she appreciated that "[Dueck's sculptures] felt so deeply spiritual. It felt like it was more than carvings, like [Dueck] put a lot into his work".

According to Jason Wiebe, the Arbor Day festivities highlight the special place that trees have in the Morden community.  

"We have a lot of beautiful trees and it's good to see that they're being taken care of".

View the gallery of photos below, capturing the fun-filled day.

Related Stories