INNISFAIL – When it comes to making Innisfail beautiful we can all do our part.
Linda Beaton and Minori Sakuma have stepped up to beautify a walkway in their southwest neighbourhood.
“My first thought was just to come and clean it up,” said Beaton, noting garbage and overgrown grass along the walkway.
Beaton said the walkway is town property while the fence that backs onto it is owned by a local homeowner, who over the years has also helped maintain it.
Beaton spoke to the town about the walkway in the spring and expressed her frustration over the lack of maintenance for the high traffic area.
“(I told them) you’ve got to start looking after this property. It’s town property. It’s not privately owned and it’s a mess,” explained Beaton, adding it's her understanding the new trails initiative may help identify similar areas and who will maintain them.
Michelle Honeyman, the town's director of community and protective services, said she spoke with Beaton about the area in the spring.
“There’s potential any time a resident wants to clean up the area adjacent to their house. That’s welcomed,” said Honeyman.
Once the walkway was cleaned Beaton considered beautifying the location using fence art.
She reached out to the community for help with the project and that’s when 16-year-old Japanese exchange student Minori Sakuma stepped up.
The budding young artist from Tokyo, Japan has been studying at Innisfail High School since January.
“I use this path every morning when I go to school,” said Sakuma.
“When I learned that Linda was going to make this path beautiful I thought it would be really exciting and would be really inspiring for the community and for children to go to school,” she added.
Sakuma said she hopes the project motivates Innisfail residents to keep pathways and the town clean and beautiful.
“From my experience in Tokyo, when the city or people make a path beautiful people don’t throw garbage. They keep it clean,” said Sakuma. “They don’t want to ruin the view. I hope it will be like that here (in Innisfail).”
Beaton said feedback from the community and people who use the walkway has been "positive."
“We’ve already had a lot of people walk through with very positive comments,” said Beaton. “The community here seems to be behind us. They’re very happy with it.
“It’s not only the town’s job. We all have to take a bit of responsibility for it,” Beaton concluded.
