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Coquitlam city gardeners ready 150 eco-sculpture

A pair of Coquitlam city gardeners is on back on home turf after starting the municipality's Canada 150 eco-sculpture in Quebec last week.
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A pair of Coquitlam city gardeners is on back on home turf after starting the municipality's Canada 150 eco-sculpture in Quebec last week.

Erin Gorby and Charissa Steel were at a farm in Laval to begin Coquitlam's — and B.C.'s — giant public artwork, with the help of an eco-sculpture master contracted by Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montreal.

In the greenhouse complex, the duo ran the irrigation system and got first-hand tips on how eco-sculptures are put together, Gorby said.

Coquitlam's creation, once complete, will be a replica of First Nations artist Bill Reid's killer whale sculpture called Chief of the Undersea World, of which the original stands at the Vancouver Aquarium.

The eco-sculpture measures 23' tall, 14' wide and 10' long and will be planted with Alternanthera and other flowering plants to give it a white aura, Gorby said. 

In June, the planted frame will be transported to Gatineau, Quebec, to be readied for July 1 — Canada's official 150th birthday.

And until Oct. 15, Coquitlam's contribution will be exhibited along with a dozen other  mosaïculture pieces and horticultural artworks at Jacques Cartier Park.

"It's going to be a really amazing showcase and I hope people from Coquitlam can get out to see it," Gorby told The Tri-City News today (Tuesday).

The other provincial and territorial eco-sculptures on display at the Gatineau park will include:

• a gold digger from the Yukon;

• muskoxes from the Northwest Territories;

• a drum dancer from Nunavut;

• a wild rose from Alberta;

• a polar bear from Manitoba;

• the Niagara gateway from Ontario;

• a horse in a field by New Brunswick;

• a fisherman and dory by Nova Scotia;

• a red fox by Prince Edward Island;

• and puffins by Newfoundland and Labrador. 

The themes for Saskatchewan and Quebec have yet to be determined. 

After the park exhibit ends, Coquitlam's eco-sculpture will travel to the city where it will find a permanent home as a Canada 150 legacy project.

A city spokesperson said Coquitlam received funding from Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montreal to cover the city's costs. 

Gorby was involved in Coquitlam's participation with the Communities in Bloom competition last year. For that national contest, the city clinched a "5 Blooms Silver" rating. The city qualified for the national contest after achieving the top “five bloom” ranking at the provincial level in 2015.

jcleugh@tricitynews.com