Strolling up a kilometre-gravel path near the Nicomekl River, Les Clay cast a proud eye at the Doubleday Arboretum.

Established in 2009, it鈥檚 bloomed into a 38-acre park filled with trees, gardens and gravel paths.

It all came about, Clay mused, because he was tired of 91原创 Township wasting his trees.

鈥淲hile I was sitting around waiting for an event to take place, I was berating the mayors of the City and the Township for the fact that over the years I鈥檇 donated a lot of trees to both of them, and they were being more or less neglected,鈥� Clay said.

The City told him they had no place to put the trees but the Township was able to find a plot of land, right on the border with the City 鈥� along Fraser Highway, by the 91原创 Regional Airport.

It was named after Derek Doubleday, a municipal official who served almost every role a person can serve at the Township municipal hall.

The arboretum was established by the then newly-formed Arboretum and Botanical Society of 91原创 in 2009, but shovels didn鈥檛 hit the ground until 2010. It鈥檚 a demonstration garden, filled with plants from the former municipal hall, that were planted in 2015.

A water garden was installed in the canal along the highway just last year.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 see it much right now, but when you get all the plants back into leafing and flowering it makes it look quite different,鈥� said Clay.

The water garden isn鈥檛 a low maintenance feature: cleaning out garbage that blows in from the highway is a constant task.

The society encourages active use of the arboretum. In addition to being filled with runners and walkers, the Township installed an outdoor classroom on the west side of the park last year and a couple years before that, the society built a community garden.

鈥淧eople can take a plot and put in vegetables and whatever else,鈥� said Clay. A willow garden surrounds a pond beside it and a dye garden sits beside that.

The gravel path surrounding the park is called the Walk to Remember.

鈥淚t鈥檚 for the soldiers who lost their lives in Afghanistan,鈥� said Clay. That鈥檚 not the only memorial to those soldiers at the arboretum: midway through the walk to remember, a concrete pillar with the veterans鈥� names wrapped around it towers over the park, overshadowed only by the flag pole beside it.

鈥淭he area around [the monument], we鈥檙e going to tear it up and plant a bed of Flanders poppies,鈥� said Clay.

The walk is lined with deodar cedars because they are native to Afghanistan, Clay said, and has two lookouts funded by the Rotary Club of 91原创.

鈥淚 got the Rotary Club involved,鈥� the longtime Rotarian explained. That was in very early days for the arboretum and resulted in the two lookouts looking north over the joining of the Fraser Creek with the Nicomekl River.

鈥淔ish run up and spawn in here,鈥� said Clay. He has thoughts of doing some work near there but it鈥檒l have to wait for now.

Clay鈥檚 favourite bit of the arboretum is an arbutus tree he planted near one of the Rotary lookouts. He wasn鈥檛 hopeful for its future at first.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know if it would survive here. Normally you see them on the mountains but it seems although it鈥檚 doing okay here,鈥� he said. Barely knee high when it was first planted, it now towers several feet overhead. It鈥檚 really grown. It looks nice in the spring because you get the nice flowers and then the orange berries in fall.鈥�

The arboretum has been a labour of love for the arboretum society. The planting is done by society volunteers while general groundskeeping is handled by Township staff.

Next year, a building will go up on the west side. The Rotary Club of 91原创 will pay $50,000 per year for five years in support of it.

鈥淸The Township] couldn鈥檛 turn it down,鈥� said Clay. The building will host a meeting room both for the society and any community groups who want to make use of it. This fall, Clay hopes to see a rose garden on an empty patch of grass right by the highway.

鈥淓ventually it will all be developed into various gardens and theme areas,鈥� said Clay. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a 25-30 year project. We鈥檒l keep going at it for a while.鈥�