The St. Albert Botanic Park wants its birdhouse back.
Until last week, the little house, a replica of an original farmstead that once stood on the site of the park, sat on top of a seven-foot pole. But then it vanished sometime over the weekend.
The thieves left only the pole, and the netting attached to its bottom, which was used to keep away the squirrels. Now the group of volunteers that manages the park asks that someone please return it.
“We are hoping that maybe somebody will find it and help us and return it, which would be just fine,” said Joan Johnson, a volunteer with the park.
The park was targeted by a lot of vandalism recently. Between July 9 and 12, the volunteer group had to remove homophobic and racist messages from one of its street signs, replace missing name signs for plants, and deal with turned-over flowerpots.
It always happens during the night, said Johnson. Luckily, the group discovered the messages on the sign early in the morning, before too many people drove by and read them. But everyone is very disappointed, she said.
It’s also not the first time the park suffered from vandalism. In 2012, someone damaged the park’s water fountain beyond repair. The fountain has since been replaced.
“We are all volunteers and the reason we are there is to make the botanic park beautiful in our city,” said Johnson. “We want to keep it looking nice.”
While they contacted the RCMP about the theft and general destruction, Johnson stressed that they are happy to just get the farmhouse back, “no questions asked.”
The house is a replica of the farmhouse the Atkinson family owned on the site from 1917 to 1952. Botanic park founding member John Beedle wanted to commemorate their contribution to the land and had the birdhouse built and placed in the park in 2012.
Just like the original, it has a red roof, cream-coloured siding and a veranda. The original home also had two bedrooms upstairs and the upper storey of the birdhouse can house two chickadee families.
Johnson said they already looked through the bushes near the river and the Red Willow Trail, which run parallel to where the birdhouse was located. But they did not find it there, so they hope someone still has it.
“It’s quite a meaningful thing for the history of the park and we are hoping that maybe it will show up,” she said.
Anyone with information about these crimes can call the St. Albert RCMP at 780-458-7700, or if you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
