Dozens of dead ash trees that line the walkway of a Gatineau, Que. elementary school are getting a new lease on life thanks to some of North America's top chainsaw artists.
Forty trees outside Eardley Elementary School fell victim to the relentless emerald ash borer – a beetle native to Asia that's killed tens of millions of ash trees since its arrival in North America in 2002.
Instead of turning the dead trees into sawdust, the school turned to a local chainsaw artist Joshua Dagg for help.
Dagg enlisted the help of about a dozen of his friends to turn the path of dead trees into an avenue of art.
"People are pretty excited about it," he told CTV Ottawa. "It's kind of different from the usual."
Competitive carver Randy Gauthier travelled from northern B.C. to help transform the trees.
"You've got a wonderful canvas right here," he said. "The imagination, just let it run."
The artists picked their designs from hundreds of concepts that were submitted by Eardley students.
A howling wolf, the school's mascot, and a Viking warrior are among the designs the sculptors will be working on over the course of four days.
The artists also brought along some of their own carvings, which will be auctioned off in a school fundraiser.
With a report from CTV Ottawa
