Chris Mertl from Corvus Design meets with the third grade class at the Haines School. (Abbey Collins)
The Haines community had its say in a second round of meetings with designers on a waterfront trail and park project last week. Residents young and old gave their input. Here’s what the kids had to say.
Chris Mertl is a landscape architect with Corvus Design. He’s leading design of a waterfront trail and park project in Haines. He came to town to gather community input, and stopped into the third grade classroom while he was here.
Mertl asked the students what makes Haines a great place – what makes it unique? He asked a similar question of the adults last month.
James Stickler listed off a number of things, including hunting, fishing, trapping, and hiking.
“How we have a good habitat,” said Ruby Martin. “So we have like, we have lots of animals here.”
Nolan Wald had a long list, including biking, the fair, trails, the view, mountains and skiing.
Mertl asked the class to come up with unique ideas for the trail and park, based on what they’d told him about Haines.
Martin had a few ideas.
“This is is where like, say, eagles can sit up it and it’s up in the trees between two trees. And then up here would be for the little small birds but it’s made out of glass,” said Martin. “And then telescope, I’m bad at drawing it. And then it’s made out of rope. It’s in the fishing net way because there’s a lot of fishermen here. There’s going to be a lot of fish on it. and then I’m making a totem pole.”
Other ideas were a boat-themed playground, a fireplace, a pond, a bike jump, picnic tables, swings, a garden, a statue of an eagle and wind chimes.
Students also suggested having a bakery – in case you get hungry – ice cream cake – for a similar reason – and a light saber statue.
“Hey, what if we took the light saber and we actually, you push the button and it goes on and it becomes a trail light? So you’d have a light saber trail light,” said Mertl.
Mertl took the ideas, many of them drawn as pictures, back to Juneau. He also compiled thoughts from the sixth grade class.
“It may take a little while,” said Mertl. “It’s probably not going to happen right away, but hopefully in a couple of years the trail will start to be built and maybe you’ll see some of the ideas you gave me start to go on your waterfront, along Portage Cove.”
We’ll see about the light saber.
