Anyone heading over the Bridge of Nations in Greater Sudbury will see some extra colour after more than 14,000 hand-made poppies were added Friday. More than a dozen volunteers installed 1,100 feet of netting covered in the hand-knit and crocheted poppies along the west side of the Paris Street bridge on Oct. 23. Organizers told CTV News they got approval from the City of Greater Sudbury to use the bridge and the Royal Canadian Legion head office to use the poppy emblem. Over the past few months, about 300 volunteers made the poppies and then sewed them together. The community-led project for Remembrance Day honours veterans and those in military service. “We want the veterans to know that we care; that we remember. For us they’re not forgotten,” said Helen Bromley, the lead organizer of the Poppy Project Sudbury. “We thought this was the perfect location to do it – under all these flags. They’ve served under all these flags.” The volunteers had attempted to reach a goal of 20,000 handmade poppies but fell short due to time constraints, as they only started the project in late August. Bromley said she expects they’ll have enough to cover both sides of the bridge next year. An official ceremony was held on Saturday ‘to celebrate the veterans,’ Bromley said before the event. Bromley said she was especially thankful for all the volunteers who helped, as well as sponsors who provided much of the materials, including the hardware to attach the poppies to the bridge.
