Katie May
LETHBRIDGE HERALD - pincher creek
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Along a mountain road leading to a logging site, the trees are wrapped in knitted blankets, bundled against the wind.
About a dozen local artists spent a Saturday stitching handmade afghans around trees in Castle Special Place along Highway 774 outside of Pincher Creek, where earlier this month four clear-cut protesters were arrested to allow construction of a logging access road to begin.
Some of those against the logging plans wanted to do something more than wave preachy placards or write letters. They wanted a warmer touch. So they "yarn bombed" the place.
"It's heartbreaking to see something so precious on the edge of destruction and the very small community that's trying to create a voice for it. So I thought we've got to find a more interesting, fun, engaging sustained way to create a focus on these areas," said Barbara Amos, a Crowsnest Pass-based artist and member of Art Works for Wild Spaces.
"The afghans are metaphors for caring, warmth and nurturing," she added.
"When you're not feeling well, you wrap yourself up in a blanket and someone looks after you. That's the metaphor we want."
The group plans to eventually remove the tree blankets, but Amos hopes in the meantime the colourful, wooly wraps will catch people's attention and help them learn about the anti-logging movement.
"When someone starts to ask questions, there's a readiness to here answers, so rather than preaching, we're saying ask questions," she said.
The group has been "yarn bombing" various locations in the Crowsnest Pass for two years, but none of their prior efforts have received this much attention.
The province has a court order that blocks public access to the logging site, but lawyers for the four arrested protesters are expected to challenge that court order in a Calgary courtroom Feb. 24.