Fibreglass Shep with epoxy finish stands almost 8 ft high and weighs nearly 300 lbs
A non-profit group that promotes conservation and tourism in the Bay of Fundy region is seeking recognition for its $9,300 contribution to restoring Shep, the giant shorebird, to its perch in Dorchester’s Village Square.
“The Fundy Biosphere was the original purchaser of Shep, the shorebird, and we would like to put a plaque at the bird to notify people who look at it who the original designer was,” Jennifer Dingman, the group’s executive director told Tantramar Town Council on Tuesday.
She was referring to Robin Hanson, the artist who operates a workshop, art gallery and historical theme park in French Lake, near Oromocto.
Hanson had been approached by then Dorchester Mayor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell to create a fibreglass replacement for the original wooden Shep in time for the 2023 Sandpiper Festival celebrating the return of the shorebirds to the Bay of Fundy in August.
But when the newly amalgamated municipal council and staff seemed uninterested in restoring the Shep statue, Wiggins-Colwell had it installed herself leading to code of conduct complaints against her and a $19,000 investigation that concluded, among other things, that she did not follow proper municipal procurement policies.
(During her successful campaign for a Tantramar Council seat, Wiggins-Colwell had promised to have Shep returned to the $15,000 concrete platform, stairs and railings that the Village of Dorchester had already built for it.)
Happy ending?
After Tuesday’s Tantramar Council meeting, Jennifer Dingman told CHMA reporter Erica Butler, her group was glad to pay for the statue.
“Robin Hanson had already made the bird and by the time amalgamation happened within the municipality, Robin was kind of left holding the bird as it were,” Dingman said.
“We wanted to make sure that he had been paid for this work,” she added.
“We deal with conservation and celebration of the region, so we felt like it was a great opportunity to showcase what we do and how Dorchester has been a proponent for conservation for many, many years.
“For us, it was a very simple, easy opportunity to bring Shep back to its home resting place.”
“Thank you for taking care of Shep,” Councillor Bruce Phinney told Dingman.
“We weren’t sure if we were going to lose him or not. There was a lot of controversy. I’m glad that got straightened out,” Phinney added.
“It’s quite the story to tell for sure,” Dingman replied with a laugh.
During her presentation to Council, Dingman showed this photo of more than 200 shorebird enthusiasts and experts from 20 countries gathered around Shep during a conference hosted by Mt. A. in August. (Click to enlarge)
This is a tribute to Mrs. Sylvia Yeoman and the citizens of Dorchester. Mrs. Yeoman presented the Mayor at the time a true to size Sandpiper to place in front of the mayor’s seat so that,”if you keep one little dream before you, it may fly one day”.
Do they believe in God? Bird and nature worship.. its very real around here.. remarkable really… duck crosswalks.. protected wetlands… international status.. so much celebration and chatter about marshes, birds, special grasses… I really stand in amazement how many well funded [ NGO & non-profit] grifter organizations are fighting to save the environment vs. how many are building homes for others…. if we never celebrate the builders.. I guess this is what we get? Maybe the next mayor will be more inclusive and celebrate those building and creating more homes in the region.. they’re heroes.
Which God? There are lots of them out there. As for Nature Worship – Nature is where we come from, where we live; we should appreciate it, worship it and care about it. What is so wrong with that?
That said, I agree that there needs to be more done to build homes – and actual low income housing – than what is going on around here. I wouldn’t call the current influx of apartment buildings being built done by “heroes” considering who they are catering to but we do need more actual homes for more people built.
Unlike you though I think organizations fighting for the environment are just as needed, certainly not “grifters” either. Not sure who you would suggest are grifters in that area but…