Thursday, August 5, 2021
VOLUME 4 I ISSUE 6
MERIDIANSOURCE.CA
Thorpe garden opens, phase II next GEOFF LEE
WRITER
.................................. Thorpe Recovery Centre has opened its therapeutic Serenity Garden, but there’s more to come. A campaign is underway to raise an additional $50,000 towards a phase II expansion following the official opening of the on-site garden and a 1-kilometre walking trail on July 28. Thorpe’s CEO, Teressa Krueckl, shared news of the expansion with a crowd of supporters, program clients and invited dignitaries on hand for a brief ceremony. “The plans will include a three-season gazebo, a bridge over the ponds, extending the paths, garden beds and markers along the pathways and, of course, the purchase of picnic tables and benches and that kind of stuff,” said Krueckl. The Serenity Garden will allow people taking part in Thorpe’s addiction treatment services to have an outdoor space to relax
and reflect. The open garden features a fire pit and seating area, a patio with a water fountain, two ponds and a walkway, and lots of plants. Thorpe’s development coordinator, Sara Fox, says prior to the development, the site was overgrown and wasn’t very inviting or exciting to be outside. “If you just wanted to take a walk, the safest place was along the gravel access road, which was not very safe, scenic or inspiring,” said Fox. She says the Serenity Garden provides a space to reflect either with yourself or with a peer. “There is so much in such a perfect little package here,” said Fox. The opening of phase I fulfills a long-standing vision of the facility prior to relocating to their current location in Blackfoot in 2012, which Krueckl touched on in her opening remarks. “In 2009, board and management of Thorpe had a vision to create a
Geoff Lee Meridian Source
Thorpe Recovery Centre CEO Teressa Krueckl, left, chats with guests on a tour of the facility’s new Serenity Garden following the opening ceremony on July 28.
centre outside the hustle and bustle and build a place of tranquillity offering a high level of therapeutic services with a place to connect with nature,” said Krueckl. “Over the past year, we have watched our facility team and volunteers work to make the dream an even bet-
ter reality.” Fox noted that fundraising began in 2015, pegging the first phase cost at about $70,000. “There is a lot of donated labour, so that’s mostly raw materials that went into this project,” she said. “Our maintenance team has been wonderful in making it hap-
pen; we’ve had business donors to help with the landscaping and get the initial work done.” Krueckl singled out Bandit Energy, Pioneer Landscaping, Nordic Mechanical, SIGA, Walk the Talk, BP Services, Home Hardware, Sheepskin Loft, the Lloydminster Lions Club, Bob and Linda
Dennett and Thorpe staff for helping to complete phase I. The event wrapped up with a ribbon-cutting by Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright MLA Garth Rowswell, Lloydminster MLA Colleen Young and Thorpe board chair Paul Richer followed by a tour of the garden.