A Mother's day walk for fallen soldiers and their families

With the death count of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan now standing at 142, a local business is marking this year's Mother's Day weekend with a walk in memory of the fallen and their families.

Organizer Steve Oliver of the Lower Sackville Wellness Centre said the walk on Saturday, May 8 is open to anyone who wants to pay their respects.

Oliver said the idea for the walk came to him after reading coverage of the latest Afghanistan war victim.

He posted the walk idea on Facebook and immediately got a reply from a mother who wanted to participate in honour of her son, who will be going to Afghanistan.

Sackville resident Cheryl Bartkiw said she stands behind her son and is 100 per cent behind Canada's role in Afghanistan.

She and many co-workers wear red every Friday to show their support so joining the walk seemed like a fitting thing to do.

Bartkiw's son will deploy to Afghanistan on May 15.

"This is a world of opportunity for him and the doors will be wide open for when the deployment is completed. His choices will be, and are, endless," Bartkiw said.

Bartkiw said she hopes her son will be able to join her in the walk.

Oliver said many people do want to show support for our troops.

"We wanted to give people something they can do. Quite often you read about what's happening in the news, but there's nothing you can do," Oliver said. "This is just a silent walk."

The Nova Scotia Liquor Commission and the Sackville Rivers Association has donated 143 tree seedlings for walk participants to plant.

"There's one for each soldier and his family," he said.

Oliver expects the event to take about four hours in total, but the walk, guided by Michael Planetta, is only about two hours long.

Oliver is asking anyone interested in participating in the walk to email him at walksackvillewellness.com.

Registration gets underway on Saturday, May 8 at 8:30 a.m. at the wellness centre at 546 Sackville Dr. in Lower Sackville, and the walk begins at 9 a.m. Participants should dress for the weather and bring a small lunch and something to drink.

If the weather is really nasty, Oliver said the walk will be postponed until May 15.

kmoar@hfxnews.ca