Wood carver Gerald Guenkel at Fairy Lake October 2 as he worked on a series of ducks and ducklings he is creating from stumps of trees that were removed earlier in the year.

Hub Staff

A few of the tree stumps that remain around Fairy Lake in Southampton are now starting to take on new form as part of the continuing Fairy Lake restoration project.

As a result of an Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) infestation, approximately 500 trees were removed earlier this year. Since then restoration work has taken place including new plants and trees, bird and bat boxes and a newly constructed floating lookout.

See: Fairy Lake now open

Now, Southampton resident Gerald Guenkel, who has been carving things out of wood for close to 20 years, has begun to transform some of the stumps into works of art. So far Guenkel has transformed one stump into a monarch butterfly feeding on milkweed and is currently working on a row of three stumps that will become a series of ducks and ducklings.

Guenkel said he approached the town after he heard the trees were to be removed and asked if some of the stumps could be kept. “Last February we came out and we marked off some and I said I'd like to keep 14 stumps around the lake that we could keep for carving,” explained Guenkel. “Eight months later here I am.”

Of the three stumps he is working on, Guenkel said one would be a duck while the second one will be some ducklings. “The third one's going to be another duckling and then I'm going to put one duck with the rear end up so it's like it’s diving. It’s always funny seeing the rear end of a duck,” he quipped.

Other ideas that Guenkel has for remaining stumps include turtles, owls, frogs and a Pileated Woodpecker. “It's just things that catch people’s eye and try and keep it as realistic as possible,” he said, adding that so far he had received positive feedback.

“It’s all part of the Fairy Lake restoration project,” said Town of Saugeen Shores Parks Manager Frank Burrows. “It started with the Emerald Ash infestation and the tree removal and then in the spring the trail rebuild and the look out, a lot of tree plantings and forest floor restoration work,” Burrows explained. “This is one of the final pieces... we’re going to have [Guenkel] create some carvings in the park to celebrate the wildlife and make it more of an interesting experience for people that are walking around the lake.”

Burrows said to begin with Guenkel will create two or three carvings. “We want to gauge people’s reactions to see what they think and then there's certainly some potential to do some more...or even making some into benches.”

More information on Guenkel and his work can be found at cancarve.com.

A carving of a monarch butterfly feeding on milkweed now looks over Fairy Lake.