It appears the fairies that called a Simcoe County Forest in Springwater Township home last summer packed up and moved south for the winter.
Anyone who walked the trails between Highway 27 and the County of Simcoe office along Willow Creek creek last summer likely came upon a spot that quickly became home to a popular Fairy Garden over the first few months of the pandemic.
Local realtor Sarah Coppard, who had lived near the spot at the time, was the one who started the garden last spring.
“We walked there one day, and I said out loud that the spot looked like a fairy garden... then thought 'Aha! I am going to start a fairy garden.' I thought wouldn’t it be fun for the kids to come down and look at it. I know I’d have loved it when I was a kid. Then it became a little hobby of making all of this stuff, because there was nothing else to do.
"Then all my friends started making them and it grew like that and then all the little kids started adding to it," she added.
That garden, however, is now gone, something she noticed during a recent walk in the area.
“I don’t know if the winter washed it away. I’ve moved so I don't go there everyday like I used to. I go there once a week now and the last time I went I was like, 'Oh, I can’t see anything.' When I started it… everything I made was made of wood, so it was environmentally friendly. There were a few plastic things getting added, so I don't know if someone took offense to that or something … unless there was some miserable person who took it all off,” said Coppard.
“It’s such a shame (it’s gone) because it was obvious all the kids loved it and kept adding to it. It’s sad because I know the kiddies loved it. Every time I went there was something new arriving.”
Jeff Haelzle, a resource management co-ordinator for the Midhurst District of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), told BarrieToday the MNRF was unaware of the “fairy garden” located on Crown land, but said staff did not remove it.
Coppard says she's considering starting fresh this year. Due to her busy work schedule, she hasn’t yet had the time, but hopes maybe others will help bring the magic back this year.
