(Submitted photo/Roger Nordick, City of Humboldt)

By Ben Tompkins

HUGS

Humboldt Urban Garden Sanctuary officially celebrates grand opening

Jun 29, 2022 | 5:00 PM

After four years in the making, the Humboldt Urban Garden Sanctuary (HUGS) has finally opened.

HUGS was originally proposed back in 2018, but due to COVID, operations were shut down and the project was delayed.

City of Humboldt Councilor, Roger Nordick told northeastNOW, that despite the delays caused by the pandemic, as soon as the project was allowed to begin construction once again, they had no shortage of help or support from the community.

“There was some doubt whether it would ever be re-energized, but it did get re-established. I found it simply amazing that once we got started, the ball really started rolling fairly fast and especially over the last year, the work was continually evolving.”

And according to Nordick, the support reached far beyond just Humboldt.

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“The actual contractors, they’re all volunteers and they came from far and wide. They came from Alberta and many were from Saskatchewan and there were a lot of commitments from other provinces in terms of materials provided. There were also community groups that got involved, along with some of the hockey families that were directly involved with the tragedy.”

“We weren’t reaching out that strongly to the community for support, because the support was already determined and so we didn’t really have a need for a lot of local workers, only when there was some heavy lifting, then that’s where the sports teams really helped out.”

While HUGS wasn’t specifically designed for the Broncos tragedy, it does serve as a sort of memorial to reflect on that and whatever other tragedies, anyone may face.

“It was for the community as a whole because they spoke of the whole community and that they needed healing because they were terribly taken aback by the tragedy. We felt that everybody needed a place to go where they can reflect and have some quiet time, a place of solace.”

And finally, Nordick was also sure to mention the theme of the artwork in the centre of it all and what it really symbolized.

“The Monarch Butterfly is meant to demonstrate the similarities between them and the lives of hockey players. Beautiful creatures who love and are loved, with lives full of uncertainty and change. Everyone is unique in their own way.”

HUGS still has room to grow as there are plans in the work for signage with long quotes about the Monarch Butterfly and their travels to Mexico and the metaphors they will signify along the way.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8