peace

After years of planning, fundraising and community collaboration, Moncton’s new Community Peace Garden at Mapleton Park is complete, offering residents a tranquil space for reflection, remembrance and connection.

The project, led by the Community Peace Garden Development Committee, officially opened last month, at 90 per cent completion. The finishing touch was added last week, with the addition of the peace pole.

For committee co-chair Sherry Trenholme, the garden represents the realization of a vision that first began taking shape in 2019.

“Back when Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe were pursuing International Communities of Peace status, I attended several workshops where people kept asking why Moncton didn’t have a community peace garden,” said Trenholme. “I felt it was something our community needed, so we formed a committee, found a co-chair, Daryl Nameth, and started working to make it a reality.”

The committee spent several years securing funding, gathering community partners and searching for the right location. Mapleton Park ultimately emerged as the ideal setting.

Garden offers a quiet retreat

Located beside the Mapleton Rotary Pavilion, the garden offers visitors a quiet retreat. Trenholme said proximity to the pavilion, which hosts thousands of visitors annually, was an important factor, along with accessibility and visibility.

“We wanted a location where people using wheelchairs or walkers could easily access it,” she said. “We also wanted somewhere peaceful, away from busy playgrounds and traffic, where people could come and reflect.”

Visitors entering the garden are greeted by a bilingual welcome sign donated by the Lahanky family. One of the first features they encounter is a hand-carved wooden turtle created by Woodstock artist Kerry O’Toole. The sculpture symbolizes Turtle Island, a name many Indigenous Peoples use to refer to North America.

The turtle was inspired by conversations Trenholme had with Indigenous artist and consultant Brian Francis during the project’s development.

“He mentioned that if he were ever designing a garden, he’d like it to be shaped like a turtle,” she explained. “Our design was already completed, but it inspired us to create a turtle as a public art piece within the space.”

The garden also incorporates Indigenous elements through plant selections, including sweetgrass, birch and ash trees, reflecting traditional cultural uses and teachings.

Further along the pathway, visitors will find a seat wall offering views of both the garden and the nearby pavilion, as well as a newly constructed pergola.

The garden also features donated benches, a picnic area and 10 commemorative trees sponsored by individuals and businesses. Among them is a rare Vimy oak grown from acorns linked to trees in France near the Vimy Ridge battlefield, a feature organizers hope may one day become the focus of remembrance ceremonies.

One of the garden’s most anticipated additions was the Peace Pole, which arrived in Moncton just hours after the official opening ceremony.

“May Peace Prevail on Earth”

The peace pole features this special message in English, and “Imagine Peace” is translated into several of the region’s most commonly spoken languages: French, Mi’kmaq, Arabic, Hindi, Tagalog, Ukrainian, and Spanish, reflecting the diversity of Greater Moncton.

The Peace Pole was donated by Will and Jennifer Johnston. “The dream of having a Peace Pole was something they carried together. When the opportunity came to contribute to the Community Peace Garden, Will knew it was the right moment to bring that dream to life — creating a place where Jen’s values could continue to inspire others for generations to come,” a social media post dedicated to the garden stated.

Jennifer, a former RCMP officer, passed away from cancer on September 4, 2025, before seeing the project completed, making the installation especially meaningful for her family.

“Jen was always the peacemaker. She leaves a legacy of respect, empathy, love, and peace. We are all aware of the need for peace around the world and between nations and peoples. That challenge can seem overwhelming, but we can all contribute to peace on a smaller scale — within Canada, within our community, and within our own homes,” the post continued.

Organizers hope the space becomes a place where residents and visitors can pause, connect with nature and reflect.

“I hope that people will use it as a peaceful place,” said Trenholme. “It’s a garden built by the community, for the community, and we’re very proud of what we’ve created together.”