ATHABASCA — As the pandemic marches on and people find themselves unable to mix and mingle this holiday season, a group of women in Athabasca have come up with a COVID-friendly activity for families, or anyone overwhelmed with the Christmas spirit, to take part.
It all started a few years ago with Rhonda Gustafson going for a walk in Spruce Grove with a former school friend when she noticed a decorated tree along the trail. She then saw it again the next year and got the idea in her head, this might be something she could organize herself, so with the pandemic taking its toll on social and seasonal gatherings this year, and because she loves the Muskeg Creek Trails, she decided to pursue the idea locally.
"They decorate that tree every year and then Tammy (Morrison) and I are out walking, and everything's getting cancelled,” Gustafson said. “And I'm like, ‘Let's do something. I have no adventures; I want to do something,’ and I told her about the tree and then she said, ‘Well, let's decorate.’”
Gustafson and Morrison mentioned it to other friends and Rachael Hammon-Dragun and Tabitha Stewart jumped on board.
"Two of them just had babies and they've been out with their strollers and they've been decorating trees so it's the whole family," said Gustafson. “Hopefully it becomes an annual thing.”
The group then contacted the town office to make sure it would be OK, and the start of the lighted one-kilometre loop was underway. Several trees have already been decorated with battery-operated lights and animal friendly items, and the group has been sure to stay clear of the cross-country skiing tracks.
“I just told people to do it as a family outing, because I mean, with COVID you can't hardly go anywhere, do anything and this way it's a family thing,” she said. “If there's more than 10 of you, you can go out and decorate your own tree and people have been and they've been putting up pictures on our Facebook and it's so cute.”
The page is called Magical Muskeg Creek Trail – Light it up! and Gustafson added if anyone cannot make it to the trails for whatever reason they can contact her and she will arrange to pick up the decorations and do it for them.
“If anybody out there has decorations and goes, ‘Oh, that's a good idea, but I can't get out there. I don't walk’ or whatever I did say I would have a COVID-friendly drop off (and) I would go do it,” said Gustafson. “I mean, I've got nothing but time because there's nothing else to do."
So far people have put out popcorn garlands and fruit, suet balls and other nature friendly decorations and if all goes well, Gustafson would like to expand the decorating next year.
“My goal next year is I'd love to do the middle bridge and put an arch on it with greenery and lights so that it'd be a cool place for families to go down and take pictures,” she said.
There is no end date on when the decorating will stop, but the group does encourage people to return after Christmas or early in the New Year to collect any decorations that are not compostable.
