During a special ceremony dedicated to honoring Ukraine, Mother Nature also put on her best show to help pay tribute to the country’s citizens in Chatham-Kent.
The colors of the nation’s flag were on full display in a sense.
In the bluest of skies, the sun shone down on beds of sunflowers, with monarch butterflies, as if on cue, arriving at the new ‘Salute to Ukraine Rotary Park.’
The Rotary Sunrise Club of Chatham hosted Saturday’s grand opening for the park, which is located at the corner of Grand Avenue East and Victoria Avenue.
A short program featured guest speakers, along with the raising of the Canadian and Ukrainian flags, followed by refreshments and conversation.
“I am so grateful to Chatham-Kent,” Nina Zeleney, who came to Canada when she was seven years old, told The Daily News. “I couldn’t be more proud.”
The sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine and has become a symbol this year against Russia’s invasion of the country.
Orest Tiahur has lived in Chatham for 30 years and now resides near the park.
He was impressed by the tribute and the show of solidarity.
“Thank you Canada for supporting Ukraine,” he said, adding he tries to talk to family members, most living in the western part of the country, at least once a week.
Through an interpreter, Olga Turovska, who arrived in Canada in May, said she was also touched.
“(I’m) very thankful that they did this for Ukraine,” she said.
She called the ceremony especially emotional given that her 45-year-old son is currently serving in the Ukrainian military protecting their homeland.
“Every day I think about him and miss him,” she said.
The tribute park is a co-operative effort by Rotary Sunrise and property owner Community Living.
The club, which will soon mark its 25th anniversary in Chatham, also presented a check for $40,000 to Rotary International’s ShelterBox program, with funds going to Ukrainian humanitarian relief.
It represents the culmination of the club’s ‘Sunflowers for Ukraine project’ launched in the spring.
Local businesses and other donors to the cause were also recognized on Saturday.
Ken Bechard, club president, credited the community’s generosity to the seed campaign as well as the park itself, and the many volunteers who made the vision a reality.
“Both of these projects took on a life of their own,” he said.
Laura Melnick, a Chatham ambassador for ShelterBox Canada, said the organization has collective centers overseas to help those in need, with such items as food, clothing, blankets and bus tickets.
“We work together with local agencies,” she said. “The people who are actually there.”
As the large-scale effort is funded by donations, Melnick added she’s “blown away” by the support of Rotary and everyone else involved.
“It is something that I’ve very passionate about,” she said.