Nestled in the heart of the MD of Bonnyville are two properties that stand out amongst the rest.
Bruce and Cynthia Sloychuk, and Ron and Bridgette Middagh were recognized for the work they put into their homes through the 2019 Rural Beautification Awards.
Both couples described the accolade as “unexpected,” with the Sloychuk’s receiving the acreage award, and the Middagh’s accepting the farmstead award during the MD of Bonnyville’s Agricultural Service Board (ASB) Rural Beautification Tour on Thursday, Aug. 15.
Bruce and Cynthia Sloychuk claimed the 2019 Rural Beautification Acreage Award. Coun. Mike Krywiak (far right) presents the couple, and Rudy their dog, with the honours.
“It feels really good. It was unexpected. A friend and colleague of Cynthia’s nominated us,” said Bruce.
He added, “It’s nice that the MD has this program and that they recognize people every year for improving the looks of their acreages and farms.”
His wife Cynthia, who has a passion for gardening, agreed.
“It just gives encouragement to others and shows people what can be done.”
While over 100 people ventured throughout their property, Ron and Bridgette explained how they had started from scratch following a fire in 2001.
“This house wasn’t here, we moved it in after the fire. The existing basement was left, but we got rid of that,” he detailed.
Bridgette said they worked endlessly to turn their home into what it is today.
“My husband told me that his wife, who had passed of cancer, that she would be proud to see how we’ve revived the gardens and all of the work that we put into it, because I think that was her dream, to have all of these gardens,” she described. “With her illness and being bedridden for so long, it became overgrown and needed a lot of replenishment.”
Bridgette continued, “To me, I take it as a compliment that he said she would be proud of what we’ve done.”
Janice Boden, assistant ag fieldman for the MD of Bonnyville, said she was moved by both families’ flowerbeds and atmosphere.
“I was impressed with the beauty and tranquility of their properties.”
Prior to the tour, properties are nominated for the awards. A committee considers certain factors based on each award category and selects a winner for farmstead and acreage out of the bunch.
“We have a lot of people in our community that have beautiful gardens and put in a lot of community pride, and you don’t get to see it. We want to thank them for the work they’re doing to their homesteads and we also want to thank all of the agribusinesses within our MD, and also showcase them because many people don’t know about them,” Boden described.
General manager of environmental and protective services and agricultural fieldman for the MD, Matt Janz, believes the tour is a great way of not only showing off the winning properties, but also to give residents an inside look at some of the area’s agriculture-based businesses.
This year’s tour featured the Lakeland Agricultural Research Association (LARA), AgZone, Ye Olde MacLean Hobby Farm, the Alberta Aquatic Invasive Species Program, E-Tree, and the Michaud Bison Ranch.
“In our heads we pick the areas we want to go to. We try to touch all corners of the municipality; of course we can’t do all of that in one day,” detailed Janz. “We look at the whole area and see what would fit into our schedule that would make it easy for a tour bus. We get people to nominate the acreages and farmsteads… and once we know the area we’re headed to, we look at all of the agriculture businesses and anything associated with agriculture, then we start making phone calls and see if they want to be a part of our tour.”
One aspect they keep in mind when mapping out their day is the values of the ASB.
Those organizing the big event also want an educational piece, so they work in a few learning opportunities.
“We have provincial acts we try to help enforce and educate the public on,” Janz said.
This year, a learning curve for attendees was invasive species, specifically the zebra mussel, which was outlined during the Alberta Aquatic Invasive Species Program visit.
Conservation K-9 handler Hannah McKenzie showed the group how her dog Seuss sniffs out zebra mussels on watercraft.
“The issue of aquatic invasive species is relevant to everyone. Having an ag tour with 130 people come through was a great opportunity for us to showcase what we do, spread the message of clean, drain dry watercraft, and have everyone meet Seuss, our K-9,” said Alberta Environment and Parks lead for the aquatic species operations and K-9 program Cindy Sawchuk.
Denis Michaud, owner of Michaud Bison Ranch, was proud to give the group an overview of his day-to-day operations.
“People want to know what’s going on,” he noted. “I’m happy they came.”
In the end, everyone left with a full belly and head overflowing with inspiration, after witnessing the time and effort that goes into maintaining a property worthy of a beautification award.
“It just gives encouragement to others and shows people what can be done,” Cynthia said about the annual honours.
Bruce added, “It just promotes beautification.”