The emerald ash borer, a beetle that feeds on ash trees, killed or damaged many of the trees throughout the Peoria, Ill. property. A local artist turned one of the stumps into a piece of art with the Peoria Park District logo and establishment date.
A new stump carving project at the Newman Golf Course in Peoria, Ill. symbolizes the efforts put forth to clear trees on the property, in what Emily Cahill, Executive Director of the Peoria Park District, said is a defining moment in park district golf, WMBD reported.
“Over the last four or five years, we’ve cut down a lot of trees. We’ve had the emerald ash borer issue,” Cahill said. “It is changing the landscape of our courses.”
The emerald ash borer is a beetle that feeds on ash trees, killing thousands of trees throughout the golf course, WMBD reported.
“All those trees that we’ve lost due to disease, and sometimes to severe weather, they’ve changed the way our courses play,” Cahill said.
Cahill told WMBD a golf advisory committee wanted to commemorate the experience of reshaping a course.
“A lot of golfers hit a lot of trees with a lot of golf balls, and so most people have a story,” she said. “That’s part of their experience and the memory-making with the park district.”
One tree near the entrance of course was dead and reduced to a stump, WMBD reported. Cahill said the committee saw it as an opportunity. They hired local artist and wood carver, Tim Gill, to turn the stump into a memorial sculpture.
Stump carving just so happens to be his specialty, according to Gill’s website, WMBD reported. The entire carving was done with a chainsaw. Gill flattened the stump vertically, then carved the PPD logo and “Est. 1894” into the tree.
Myriad donors supported the project, WMBD reported.
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