(Okoboji)-Okobotree has received a grant to expand their tree carving project. KUOO’s Becky Thoreson has details:
Spirit of Okoboji has announced that it plans to commission at least a dozen tree sculptures through its OkoboTree project.
Project Coordinator Kathy Fahy says, the project started last year. “So, OkoboTree is part of Spirit of Okoboji, which is a local family foundation, and OkoboTree is a project within that. Our goal is to look at expired or dead trees in the area. You know, we have all these beautiful oak trees that have been hit by blight or different things that are dying, and what are some ways that we could potentially preserve those instead of just simply cutting them all down? One of the ways to do that is to do some wood sculptures, and then from that, be able to maybe put together what we’re calling a ‘treesure’ map for residents and tourists to go around and see all these carvings around the Great Lakes area.”
She adds that the group has received an Empower Rural Iowa Grant to expand the project. “It’s part of the Iowa Economic Development Group, it’s a Rural Enrichment grant. We received $20,000 to expand this program and so, our goal it to try to identify and do 12 more tree carvings this year around the Lakes Area.”
The group is looking for trees and artists for the project.
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