The Town of Turtleford's Memorial Park. (Submitted photo/Deanna Kahl Lundberg)

By Angela Brown

Beautification effort

Turtleford honoured with provincial Communities in Bloom award

Nov 30, 2021 | 10:21 AM

TURTLEFORD, Sask. — The Town of Turtleford is thrilled to have a new feather in its cap after receiving a Saskatchewan Communities in Bloom ‘Special Recognition’ award this year.

The award recognizes the town’s Memorial Park in the ‘Community Appearance’ category.

Turtleford Mayor Lawrence Weinrauch commended the local volunteer group for devoting time to the project.

“I think people are excited. It strengthens the community pride,” he said of the win.

Weinrauch said the individuals who have been in charge of the local Communities in Bloom efforts always maintain the park well, and continue to add to it.

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“This past year they [improved] the flower bed, and some edging. It really made a big difference to the look of it,” he said.

Turtleford received one of seven awards given to Communities in Bloom Special Recognition award winners in the province.

The town’s administrator, Deanna Kahl Lundberg, was also honoured in the results, receiving second place in the Communities in Bloom photo contest for her submitted picture of the Memorial Park.

Marion Nordell, founder of Turtleford Communities in Bloom and the group’s current secretary-treasurer, noted there are about a dozen volunteers in the group.

“It takes a lot of hands to get all the work done,” she said.

Nordell said the members were all pleased to see Turtleford recognized in this year’s awards event.

“We put a lot of time and effort into the Memorial Park,” she said. “We’re all long-time residents of the community, and it’s very special to us.”

Nordell noted the Memorial Park first started around 2006 when the town donated a vacant lot for the initiative.

The developed park now features a granite slab that includes over 200 names of pioneer families within the community. Another important feature is the cenotaph, listing the names of those from the community and area who lost their lives in service in the First World War and Second World War. The cenotaph was relocated to the park a number of years ago.

Nordell said the town’s businesses have also supported the Memorial Park project to add to some of the details. Usually, the Communities in Bloom group tries to raise money for their initiatives by holding a raffle in the spring.

Participants in the 2021 Saskatchewan Communities in Bloom awards event were celebrated through the: Special Recognition Awards, “Take a Shot!” Photo Contest, and Community Evaluations in the Novice, Evaluated Friends, and new Tourist’s Takeaway categories.

Andrew Exelby is the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association (SPRA) parks and open spaces consultant, and co-ordinator of the Saskatchewan Communities in Bloom program.

Exelby said the commulative effort to make the Memorial Park such a beautiful place is what is being recognized with the award given to Turtleford.

He noted the Communities in Bloom volunteer organizations throughout the province do a great deal to improve Saskatchewan.

“Communities in Bloom is all about community development,” Exelby said. “Having volunteers involved in community development such as [creating] beautiful park spaces helps attract residents to your community, helps attract businesses to your community and it generally makes everybody in the community proud of where they come from and where they live.”

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow