There’s a new group in the Lakeland, and it rocks.
Cold Lake Rocks is a social media page that encourages the community to spread a little love in a unique way.
Jo-Ann Ward, creator of the local page, said getting involved is easy. All you have to do is join the group and keep an eye out for painted rocks throughout the area or hide some of your own.
“If I’m walking around and I find one, I have three choices. I can keep it if I really like it, I can leave it where it is, or I can take it and hide it somewhere else,” noted Ward. “The key to connecting everyone, is I’m supposed to take a picture of it and then post it to Facebook so anyone that has left rocks, they can see that someone found it. That’s really what the kids are inspired by. They get excited when they see someone else has found their rock and that it has been hidden again.”
This initiative is nothing new.
In fact, Ward brought the idea back from Lacombe after coming across it during a visit with her grandchildren.
”My grandkids were explaining to me how it works, and I just thought it was such a cool idea, that when I got back here, I started explaining it to a few people that I work with, because I work in a school, and they all thought it was a great idea,” she detailed.
After just one week, Ward had over 1,000 people join the group.
There’s no requirements, and it’s open to everyone in the area, not just those living in Cold Lake.
In fact, Ward explained how one of their members, who is originally from Newfoundland, has even hidden a few of her own home-based creations throughout the region.
“She brought a bunch of rocks with her, and as she travelled across Canada, she left these rocks all over the place. You see hers in and amongst the community. They say NL Rock Art, and there’s a page for that, just like Lacombe has a page,” she expressed.
Ward continued, “I think it’s becoming a more popular thing. I think we will start seeing that kind of thing more and more and from all kinds of communities.”
Not only is the initiative connecting communities across Canada, Ward believes there’s a long list of benefits.
“It gets kids outside and interacting with others. It’s great for creativity, fine motor, and gross motor skills,” she explained, adding as a teacher, she often sees youth have a lack when it comes to “the spirit of community and the idea of doing things together.”
“So often, people either work too much or spend too much time on our computers and phones and playing video games. This is so much more. You have to be active and you’re interacting with others. Especially for the kids,” she added.
In addition to helping children with their fine motor skills and creativity through the painting aspect of Cold Lake Rocks, it also gets families spending time together outside.
“I think it’s a lot of fun. It might be one of those things where for a couple of months it’s a big deal and then it fades away, but who knows?” said Ward.
It’s the optimistic nature of the group that has Ward thrilled with the idea.
“All of the messages on the page are really positive. I think it’s a good thing for the community. It’s bringing people together and it’s spreading that idea of a community coming together, working together, and doing things together,” she added.
For more information, visit Cold Lake Rocks on Facebook.
