Welcome to St. Albert, Alberta’s botanic arts capital. It might be a few years before St. Albert’s new gardening-themed brand appears throughout the city on the sides of buses, vehicles or visitor signs, but at least council has planted the seed in the hopes economic development and tourism take root.
Council has endorsed the botanical arts brand and slogan that comes with it: “Cultivate Life.” The theme beat out a dozen other ideas from Alberta’s Artisans Capital, to Sports Capital of Alberta and Alberta’s Finest Recreational Community. It encapsulates a vision many residents already have of a beautiful city with ample parks, trees, public art and future economic drivers in Hole’s new Enjoy Centre overlooking Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park. But the message is aimed at attracting new residents, businesses and visitors who may have never visited St. Albert.
Phrases like “cultivate your dreams” paint a vivid picture of the type of lifestyle in St. Albert. It’s a major step forward compared to previous bland monikers like “community of choice,” which said little of substance about the city and only reinforced elitist stereotypes of St. Albert. The brand also comes with an attractive logo that identifies with St. Albert’s green spaces, a visual that over time will replace the dated blue St. Albert logo.
Cultivate Life is not perfect. St. Albert is a winter city, a fact that will make it difficult to highlight gardening attributes for more than half the year. That makes it all the more important to reinforce lifestyle attractions that are available year-round. Initially, that could be a challenge given the brand will be rolled out over several years, potentially muddying the message. And it’s still unclear at to whom the message will be directed and at what cost. But by sowing the seeds today, St. Albert has the potential to flourish well into tomorrow. That’s an idea worth cultivating.
