A small army of volunteers have planted 26 trees at the Waterfront Park in Pembroke. A bunch of work took place on Monday (June 13th, 2022) and saw skid-steers, backhoes and tractors with tree spades used to assist with planting efforts.
Former Mayor of Pembroke and Vice-Chair of the Horticultural Society, Terry McCann, tells myFM that years ago the city had looked at potentially developing the greenspace and putting in hotels, a condo or restaurants, but the community spoke out against those plans.
McCann says the new arboretum will benefit everyone in the Upper Ottawa Valley.
The army of volunteers who assisted with planting efforts on Monday was coordinated by Fred Blackstein, who helped develop the Waterfront Park 22-years-ago.
Blackstein tells myFM the work wouldn’t be possible without the support of everyone involved noting Brian Hugli donated the tractor with the tree spade equipment to help plant the trees, which weigh about 500 pounds with the root balls.
Blackstein adds the gazebos will be brought down this week and are donated by Home Depot, the gardeners shed is complete and the picnic tables will be arriving at the arboretum site in the coming days.
(written by: Rudy Kadlec)
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COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: Construction of the Arboretum at the waterfront in Pembroke well underway