By Kris Leonhardt

Editor

MARSHFIELD — Visitors to the Wildwood Park & Zoo can enjoy two new additions to the park grounds.

On Sept. 8 a statue donated by sculptor Clyde Wynia was installed on the edge of the water located east of the cougar exhibit. The statue features a crane with several cattails around it, similar to an existing sculpture situated near Washington Elementary School.

The gift was approved by Marshfield’s Board of Public Works and common council at the end of 2016 and went through several adjustments with regard to placement and legal conditions before its final installation.

A second donation to the park came from Christopher Berg Jr., who developed an appreciation for trees and nature early in his life.

Marshfield Parks & Recreation staff member Ben Steinbach, left, and Christopher Berg Jr. install a bench, which was paid for by Christopher’s Power of Pizza fundraiser. (Submitted photo)

“From the time Christopher was about 4 years old, the park was one of his favorite places,” said Christopher’s grandmother Carol Berg-Kappel. “It was a natural fit for him. It was full of trees.”

As Christopher visited the park, he watched how city workers managed and cared for the trees. As trees needed to be cut due to decay or weather damage, “Christopher knew that new trees needed to be planted to replace the trees that were lost,” Berg-Kappel added.

Christopher and his grandfather planned a Power of Pizza fundraiser, where Berg-Kappel, the former owner of Real Pizza, would make and sell her pizza for one day, to raise money to buy replacement trees.

In November 2015 Christopher and the Power of Pizza raised enough funds to purchase 30 large trees and a bench for the park.

Christopher’s donations were part of the Celebration Tree & Bench Program, developed through the Marshfield Parks & Recreation Department to introduce trees and benches within the Marshfield park system.

The trees were planted in May 2016, and the bench, which faces the eagle exhibit, was installed at the end of August 2017.

For more information on the Celebration Tree & Bench Program and how to donate, contact the Marshfield Parks & Recreation Department at 715-384-4642.