Kelowna's City Park has a new piece of public art.

The stump of one of two large damaged trees the city recently removed from the park has been turned into a carving of a mother bear and her two cubs.

The carving, by Lake Country artist Randy Duff, cost the city $2,700, about the same amount it would have cost to remove the large tree stump, said urban forestry supervisor Blair Stewart.

The carving is located beside the children's water park and Stewart said the city wanted something playful in appearance because of the location.

He said Duff has been working on the carving on and off for the last two weeks and is currently in the final stages of its preparation adding a seal coating to the work. The caving currently has a fence around it.

The trees were removed because of they were damaged and there was a concern large branches could fall onto the water park.

Stewart said after the first tree and its stump were removed, city officials came up with the idea to turn the other stump into a carved piece of public art.

He said given the success and relatively cheap cost of the project, the same approach could be used in future in other city locations when large trees have to be removed.