The David Douglas Botanical Garden Society has put a call out for all metal sculpture artists to submit ideas for a piece to welcome visitors into the garden at UNBC.
Linda Naess, president of the garden society, said she knows artists will have good ideas on what the art piece should look like to make an impact on visitors as they enter the extensive gardens.
The group welcomes submissions from anyone interested in creating a piece to go atop the base that now sits empty just beyond the entrance to the garden.
"We're looking for a sturdy piece since it will remain outside and we don't want it to be damaged," Naess said. "We want a piece that is symbolic of the garden and may honour David Douglas in some way."
But the society doesn't want a bust of David Douglas and the suggestion of a Douglas fir cone was given as an example of a starting point as the Douglas fir was named for him.
Douglas was a Scottish botanist and explorer. He collected species and seeds such as the Douglas fir. In 1734, on his way back to Fort Vancouver, Douglas’ canoe overturned in the Fraser River rapids just south of Fort George (Prince George). He was able to save instruments and observation notes but lost his botanical notes and his entire collection of 400 species. He died tragically seven months later at age 35.
The society has a budget of $7,500 designated for the project and the money comes from fundraising efforts, donations and there is also a grant application in the mix.
"We're looking to finish off the entrance where we've recently built an arbor and we're looking to put two plaques and a sculpture on the base as a way to identify the garden," Naess said. "It's something that we've been looking at doing for quite a while."
There has already been expressions of interest from local artists and Naess said she's happy about that because they would prefer a local artist create the piece.
During the pandemic, Naess said many people have naturally turned to the great outdoors and she believes there have been more visitors to the garden than ever before, including families.
As the gardens are built and maintained by volunteers, including Naess, she said she's seen first hand how people have attended the gardens and many groups turned to the pavilion that oversees the city as a safe social-distanced meeting place.
Artists are encouraged to submit up to five different images and deadline for submissions is December 31, 2020.
For more information visit www.ddbotgarden.bc.ca
