Rosmarie Bradley of Helping Nature Heal proved the naysayers wrong. Photo left, shows her 13-foot Inukshuk towering over her partner Greg Lohnes.
"Nothing is impossible if you have the right people and the right reason." she says.
The project started way, way back years ago in Ontario when Tim & Ann Freeman bought a tiny glass Inukshuk for indoors. That's when Tim started dreaming about one day building an outdoor version. The couple had to retire to Nova Scotia before the dream became a reality.
"[Rosmarie] got it all together - she made it happen," acknowledges Tim. "Brian is good, Scott did a wonderful job. They all had really good ideas. I'm thrilled with it. - I love having a conversation piece!"
Brian Lohnes of Easy Doze It Excavating brought to the table an engineering background from his years in the Navy. He and Rosmarie designed the structure and its foundation.
Scott Nowe Excavation and Weyland Statton Plyform played key roles in the project's success. "Scott went above and beyond what a normal excavator would do," says Rosmarie. "While digging rocks out of the Quarry he made roads to get the pieces we really wanted.
"He was very accommodating and was willing to take the risk of being involved with a new type of project. He was very gentle with the machine - placing a piece, then holding it still while we used slivers of rock to keep the structure balanced and level. Without him being who he is, we would not have been able to do it."
Before the arrival of Helping Nature Heal
Rosmarie sourced 14.5 tonnes of armour rock at her favourite "Rock Store" Mailman's Quarry just outside Bridgewater in Rhodes Corner.
The foundation concrete, rated at 4,000 psi, was re-inforced with two layers of rebar mesh. The excavation was 9 x 6 feet and 4.5 feet deep. Scott collected the rock, chosen on site at the quarry by the Freemans. Then he and Rosmarie began building. Brian came in for some engineer-minded tweaking.
"It was tricky balancing the underarm section," recalls Rosmarie. "We had to listen to the universe, some trial and error to make it work." The entire project, from planning to collecting the stone and the actual building came in at under 10 hours.
|
|
Rosmarie Bradley on location with Tim and Ann Freeman. "Scott [Scott Nowe Excavation] went above and beyond what a normal excavator would do," says Rosmarie.
|
|
|
copyright 2009, 2010 Helping Nature Heal: all rights reserved