While we may not look familiar to you, Cold Lake has been home to us since 1990. For the past 12 years, My wife Carmen and I (Chris) have lived and worked in Edmonton and every so often you would see us stop by to visit friends and family who stayed rooted her. Cold Lake was my last posting as a military kid and it's where my parents decided to settle down. It's where I met my wife and where we married. The forests where I once played and biked in Nelson Heights have long since been replaced by residential development but I seem to find memories hiding around almost every corner. Tree's which I didn't think much of when I was a boy now stand tall and still seem to bring the same glimmer to my eye. Like the wind, they whisper an imperceptible challenge to once again climb as high as I can.  

With several years of urban forestry now under my belt, I can no longer just walk down the street without looking up. I see wounds and easily fixed flaws on tree's on either side of the road and both perceived and potential beauty. Subconsciously I can't help but want to make the world around me a better place. It's the way I'm wired and the way I was raised.  

It's the way that I want to raise my kids.