Floating between earth and sky, Lakebone transforms a full-sized tree and pollinator habitat into a reflection on the connections between forests, waterways, and communities in the Lake Champlain watershed. The sculpture evokes Burlington’s history as one of America’s busiest lumber ports while also looking to the future health of the lake. Today, sustainable forestry and watershed management, including the restoration of floodplain forests and maintaining deadwood along rivers and lakes, help protect water quality, reduce erosion, provide habitat and increase resilience. Lakebone invites us to consider how the choices we make today will shape the future of the waterways that sustain us all.

The pollinator friendly habitat below Lakebone is designed and installed by Bee the Change. With grasses and flowers the sidewalk comes alive and buzzing with pollinators. This restoration of the hardscape of the streets of Burlington is an important part of the stormwater mitigation by becoming a rain garden with long perennial roots.