Anyone who frequents the as-yet-unnamed retention pond bordering St. James Street may notice some changes as of late. The park now has a new adjoining trail and a new public sculpture, despite still having no official name.

In September, Sackville town council agreed to hire Beech Hill landscaping to build a new trail along the dikes containing the six-acre Ducks Unlimited wetland across the street from the retention pond. Town staff built two culverted access points to the trail, one onto St. James Street, and another onto the rail trail along Lorne Street. Parks and Facilities manager Todd Cole told councillors, “the future plan is to run along the rail bed to go directly across the street, by Memorial Park. We’re still working on the easement process right now for that trail, but hopefully that will be done as well this year.”

The new trail cost about $21,000 plus HST, and $15,000 of that is being covered by a federal grant acquired by recreation director Matt Pryde. That means a good portion of this year’s $25,000 budget for new trails may remain unspent.

Ducks Unlimited has a 30-year contract with the town of Sackville to maintain and manage the wetland, signed in 2019. At that time, a trail was envisioned along the dikes, and town engineer Jon Eppell says Ducks Unlimited is still supportive of the trail.

“It’s a lovely spot where you can be right downtown in a couple of minutes and be walking out in a wild area,” said Coun. Bill Evans before council approved the trail unanimously. “It’s a real treat. This adds to the retention pond… It’s just a really nice addition to our trail system and park system in this town.”

Pond trail now features second public art piece

Across the street and around the retention pond trail, there’s another new addition: a stone monument commemorating the Yorkshire immigration to the Sackville area which started in 1772.

Artist Janet Crawford proposed the sculpture after a call-out from the town for ways to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the first arrival of the Yorkshire Settlers.

The milestone was erected this week along the CN rail side of the retention pond. Crawford says the installation is not quite complete, and she and stonemason Scott Harris are still working on the site.

The sculpture is based on the historic design of Yorkshire Milestones which were used for centuries to guide travellers from village to village in Yorkshire and other parts of England. It features two glass mosaics, one of a Marsh barn and another of the first Methodist Church built in Middle Sackville by Yorkshire settlers. There are also two stone carvings, one featuring a Yorkshire rose, and another a sailing ship, specifically a two-masted brigantine, like one which would have brought settlers to Canada in the 1770’s.

Sackville special projects manager Kieran Miller told council in May that the retention pond was formerly owned by Charles Dixon, one of the first Yorkshire descendants to arrive in Sackville. The cost of the project including installation was about $13,000, with $11, 000 covered by the town’s public art budget for 2022, and the rest covered by grants.

Bill Evans, who is a descendant of Charles Dixon, spoke in favour of the project, which also passed unanimously at council.

“I think it’s delightful. I think it’s a wonderful addition to the park… I’m pleased that we are continuing to implement our policy of incorporating a small amount of money for artwork in any major capital project that we do.”

The Yorkshire Milestone is the second piece of public art to go up in the retention pond park, the first being a climate change themed metal sculpture which serves as a working wind vane, and features silhouettes of a migrating bird and a transport truck. The piece is called The Chignecto Balance, and was commissioned under advice from the mayor’s roundtable on climate change.

Homage to “Dude Chilling” or dig at town CAO: unofficial names for unnamed pond

With an expanding trail system and two new sculptures, the only thing missing from the retention pond is a name.

After it opened the town did hold a contest to solicit names for the new park, but recreation director Matt Pryde says the town was hoping for more entries. Some residents have taken it upon themselves to name the park, at least on Google.

Someone took the initiative to name the new retention pond back in summer 2019. Photo: Max Cotter.

Currently, there are two names listed near the park, one being “Dude Chilling Pond,” which is a reference to a nickname given to a Vancouver area park by local residents, in honour of a cedar sculpture of a reclining figure. “Dude Chilling Park” made headlines, and got a mention on the Jimmy Kimmel Show, after an artist erected a sign pseudo-christening the park Dude Chilling Park, and the Vancouver Park Board ended up reneging on a decision to take it down after neighbourhood outcry.

A park board member at the time explained the decision this way: “We live in a relatively stressful world these days, so I think “Dude Chilling” brings a smile to people’s faces.”

In Sackville, someone decided to bring similar smiles to local residents, and erected a “Dude Chilling Pond” sign in the retention pond in the summer of 2019. The sign didn’t make it to the fall season, but the name lives on in Google Maps, along with photos of the sign gracing the pond.

The other name that appears on Google Maps beside the retention pond is possibly more contentious than “Dude Chilling.”

“Burke’s Brook” is a reference to town CAO Jamie Burke, who lives nearby the pond, and headed up the project which constructed it as part of a larger stormwater mitigation project. Burke is not a fan of having his last name featured on the online map, and told council such at a September meeting.

“I’ve specifically asked staff to reach out to have that removed from Google because obviously the name—my surname is the reference—is inaccurate. There’s been no name chosen for the retention pond. It’s simply been named the retention pond since it was since it was constructed,” said Burke.

Another well known Sackville name, this time a vocal opponent of the retention pond project, also appears on Google Maps. The Ducks Unlimited wetlands across from the retention pond have been dubbed “Percy Best Memorial Park,” though Percy Best is alive and well.

Recreation director Matt Pryde says the town will likely revisit the naming process for the retention pond once the amalgamation of the new town of Tantramar is complete.

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