A space for peace and mindfulness in Sylvan Lake is now complete.
“It’s exciting,” said Brittney Wells, FCSS senior services supervisor. “It’s an exciting little space that we have in the community.”
The Health and Wellness Healing Hub is located along the east side of 47 Avenue and 52 Street in town and it’s designed to support the health and wellness of Sylvan Lakers. The hub includes a labyrinth, community garden planter boxes, two sets of free-standing musical chimes, a contemplation space, a wisdom circle, a gazebo, two raised zen garden boxes and throughout the treed area and along the pathways visitors will find positive messaging.
“In the past, we have applied for and received the New Horizons for Seniors federal grant and we thought this grant would be a wonderful start to what is now the hub,” explained Wells. “In 2019, we applied for the grant and we were successful in getting $25,000. In 2020, we applied again and got another $25,000. We also applied for a Canadian Mental Health grant and we got that, as well. So we got a total of $84,000 in grants for the hub. It was wonderful.”
Through the grant process, FCSS had to specify what the money would be for and Wells explained that in addition to the healing park, FCSS added a portable labyrinth project that could be used by the public indoors, in addition to the outdoor labyrinth included in the hub.
“The indoor component is a portable labyrinth that we have here at FCSS that can be loaned out to community groups,” Wells explained, adding that the grant also allowed them to have smaller finger labyrinths made and individuals can use them for their calming effects.
“We hope community groups and programs will use the space and we hope we will be able to display some art in the park eventually,” Wells said of the Health and Wellness Healing Hub. “We want it to be a place of healing and rejuvenation for all of our residents.”
There are currently no rental procedures in place for using the hub. It’s free to use and Wells said it’s large enough hat many groups could be using the space at the same time. FCSS and the Family Resource Network will also be hosting some programs at the hub in the future.
The grand opening was recently done over Facebook with a promotional video of the entire hub.
“People have been out and enjoying it,” Wells said. “Whenever I drive by, I see people in the park. It was really special to see. We hope the community brings generations together to use the park. This was a community-led project, we were just successful in getting the grants to make it happen.”
Construction for the hub started in the late spring of 2021 and was completed this summer.
“This was phase one,” Wells explained. “We are hoping to apply for other grants for phase two, where we will possibly be able to put in larger community gardens, an accessible swing and potentially an amphitheatre as well. We want to include everyone in the community, no matter their needs.”