Locations: The Forestry Farm
Originally posted on August 29, 2022
One of the questions that come up time and time again for portrait photographers is, “Where’s a good place to take photos?” I have my favorite spots in and around Saskatoon as well as some locations that I have yet to shoot at but would love to try out. So, I thought sharing my photos of those spots here on my new blog might be a good way to help pre-answer that question: “Where’s a nice place to take pictures?”
First up is the Forestry Farm Park & Zoo in the northeast area of Saskatoon has a longer history than many residents realize. The location was originally a tree nursery first known as the Dominion Forest Nursery Station and then changing its name to the Sutherland Forest Nursery Station. This “tree farm” was in operation from 1913 to 1966 at which time it was turned into a city park. It’s currently designated as a National Historic Site Of Canada and the Superintendent’s Residence which was built in 1913 is designated as a heritage property. The zoo is also a part of the park since 1964 when the city aquired a number of animals from an animal farm that had run into financial issues. It is currently accredited by the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums and contains over 80 species of animals. While the zoo is a fun place to walk around in and a fun place to take pictures, I would like to focus on the park.
The Forestry Farm Park is quite a large area. There are spaces with trees as well as more open spaces. There’s a gazebo in one area and a stage in another. The fishing pond is a nice relaxing spot to sit or if you have children, there’s a playground for them to run around. And numberous picnic sites with barbeque pits can be found all over the park. The park is home to several horticultural societies and it’s not hard to see their work in several of the smaller gardens such as the Rose Garden and the Zen Garden. The wedding Pavilion is a simple, elegant space that can accommodate a number of people for weddings and other events.
Of course, being that Saskatoon is located in an area of extreme weather, every season makes the park look slightly different but I really wanted to show some of the photos of the grounds that I took this June before one of my sessions.
There is a parking fee of $4.00 to enter the park with a vehicle between April 1st to October 31st. The zoo is extra and daily fishing licenses are available at the park gates. For more information, please visit their website at: https://saskatoonzoosociety.ca/
