KNPS, community gather to dedicate new arbor, thank company

SANDPOINT — ‘The Arb’ now has its own crown jewel — a rustic, timberframe work of art created by Collin Beggs Timberframing.

Tuesday, Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society members, city officials, and community members gathered to thank Beggs and his crew for their creation of a new arbor to serve as the heart of KNPS’ arboretum.

“When we embarked on the project, I for one thought ‘OK, we’re going to get a new arbor donated and few of us anticipated this beautiful work of art we now have,” KNPS president Ken Haag said. “This is truly a wonderful gift to both the native plant society and the people of Sandpoint that will last for decades.”

As soon as the society saw the finished project — which saw installation take place on a cold, rainy, stormy day — they knew they had to celebrate it, and to note the gift to the community and properly thank Beggs and his crew, Haag said.

The arbor created by Beggs and his crew adds to the tranquil beauty and specialness of the arboretum, Sandpoint Parks and Recreation Director Kim Woodruff told those gathered. On a recent Sunday, he did a bike-around, visiting the community’s parks and checking to make sure everything was in good order. At the arboretum, Woodruff said he ran into a couple who shared they came to the spot almost every day to enjoy its beauty and its peacefulness.

“For me too, sometimes if I get stressed, I can come down here and just hang out in the peaceful place and it’s really kind of a sanctuary,” he added. “It’s something we didn’t have before.”

The arboretum, Lakeview Park, the Bonner County Historical Museum and the Lions Club as well as surrounding neighbors, the area is its “own kind of unique neighborhood” that adds up to something special, Woodruff said.

“So it’s not the city, it’s not the society,” he added. “It’s we together as a community.”

The arbor created by Beggs and his team adds to that feeling, said Woodruff.

The gift of the arbor is another testament to his dedication to community, from serving on the Planning and Zoning commission to working to make the community a better place, Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad said Beggs has shown himself to making the community the best place that he can.

“This is really incredible,” he added.

Rognstad also thanked the native plant society for its many contributions to the arboretum over the years.

“This is really a gift you’ve created and as Kim said, we’ve got a special little community here especially with the new Memorial Field project and the rest of Lakeview Park and the museum here,” Rognstad said. “This is just a really special little park system that we’ve got here and I thank all of you for your dedication and hard work in making it so.”

KNPS arboretum coordinator Cara Johnson said places like the arboretum and what they represent are the reason why she moved back to her hometown to stay.

“We have such a special town and so many amazing people here and an opportunity to really create something very unique, very special, very cool, together as a group,” she said. “I mean, there’s so much that happened. I can’t believe what the Native Plant Society has created here in the park. It’s gorgeous.”

What Beggs has given to the arboretum and to the city is such an amazing gift, one that enhances the unique and special character of the site.

“I think when we are surrounded by beauty and intentional art like this, it helps us to be more beautiful and more intentional and to all be infused with that and to live that way,” Johnson told Beggs. “I can’t thank you enough.”

An ancient form of carpentry, timberframing allows his crew to create pieces that are part of their surroundings, Beggs said. When it came to building the arbor, they used a mix of materials — oak because it will stand up to the weather and the elements, walnut from Gooby Road and some Douglas fir, which is native to the area.

In designing the spot, he knew the space was confined so the crew put as much into it as they could to make it interesting and beautiful, he said.

“The built environment has a huge impact on people’s sense of place and sense of belonging and when you build for permanence, you’re saying something,” Beggs added. “You’re saying, ‘I am here for the long haul and I’m willing to go through the ups and downs and when I create something in the built environment, I want their lives to be uplifted and it’s very, very important.’ It’s the pivotal point of our work.”

Located in Lakeview park, the arboretum fills 1.8 acres in the heart of Sandpoint and is comprised of eight habitats, each with the appropriate plants, found in North Idaho.

Information: www.nativeplantsociety.org

Caroline Lobsinger can be reached by email at clobsinger@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @CarolDailyBee.