Sanctuary nestled in our neighborhood

Weber Park has been my sanctuary during the pandemic. I just learned about 'the forest' when I adopted a puppy October 2020. I live in Linden Hills so the park is close and I began to take my puppy there several times a week. As winter set in and the Covid cases escalated, this was a calm and peaceful place to go recharge my batteries and connect with nature. I met many wonderful people who were doing the same with their dogs. We all appreciated the opportunity to be in nature and connect with others in a safe way, especially Nov-Jan when everything shut down. The people I met all had a love and deep appreciation for this place where we could walk on trails beneath beautiful trees while our dogs ran happily off leash, just as ecstatic to be there as we were. This place is very close to where we live but going into the forest feels like you are in a different and magical place, so good for our mental health in these challenging times. I heard time and time again from people that I met that this place had made a positive and healthy impact on their day. Such a wonderful opportunity to be in nature and amongst children and dogs playing.

I sincerely hope that different solutions can be explored for the problem at hand. What a tragedy it would be to lose these trees. There is truly nothing like this place and taking down these trees would be a tremendous loss to many people who enjoy them. In this time when mental health is such a concern, we cannot remove a sanctuary that is improving the mental health of many every day.